Forbidden Tales: Book One
by Zero Unit RGB
Summary: When the dark warlock, Ken is freed from his prison, the kingdom is in real danger now. And he was freed just before Princess Mimi's big ball with the other royals! Will simple handmaidens find love with princes, or knights? Will the wizard's dark secret be exposed by the mysterious doctor? All of these questions will be answered in this strange book Davis found in his room. REVIEW
1. The Mysterious Book

"How peculiar" Izzy blinked. The rest of the team all gathered closely to stare at the strange book that Davis had uncovered underneath the mess in his living room. "It's certainly not a book I'm familiar with. Did you ever have something like this when you were a kid, Davis?"

Davis shook his head. "No, I've never seen it in my life, which is why I brought it to you. I mean, just check out that blurb on the back."

"I'm surprised you even knew what the word 'blurb' even meant" Yolei snickered. Davis glared at her but didn't comment.

Izzy rubbed his chin and turned the book over. Mimi butted her head in, pushing the redhead away from seeing the book. "What does it say?"

"Will you let me read it?" Izzy asked irately. Mimi sheepishly backed off. "Well that's odd. 'There are four tales in this book. Each one is different every time you read them but the result will always be the same…Death. With each tale comes a new set of characters; with each new set of characters comes even more death. That is the one thing that is certain in life…We die…But is there someone behind it?'"

"Scary" Kari remarked.

"I've never heard something so creepy" TK added.

Tai took the book out of his younger friend's ands and took a look at the cover again. "There's also no cover…" The book was just completely black except for the gray words on the back. There was this strange golden pattern on the spine but nothing else to indicate who the author or the title of the book is. "Davis, did you open this book at all since you found it?"

"No…I'm not the reading kind of person and I thought that wouldn't be smart to open something as weird as that" the teenager replied.

"Maybe we should open it" Sora suggested. "I mean, how bad can it actually be?"

Joe shook his head at the idea. "I say that's a bad idea. Something strange always ends up happening to us whenever we do something we're unsure of. I say that it's safer to just leave this book alone, keep it locked up or something."

"What's the worst that could happen?" Matt inquired.

"A lot" Ken replied. "We've seen lots of strange things happening, what makes you think that this will be no different?"

Cody nodded in agreement with both guys. "As curious as I am about the book, I don't think we should just carelessly open it. For all we know, some monster could come out of it like Pandora's Box. That wouldn't be very good, would it?"

Kari looked to her big brother. "What do you think Tai? This'll be your call."

Tai took a moment to think about it before he sat down and placed the book on his lap. It appeared that this was his answer so everyone took a chair and sat down. "Are you guys ready for this?" After receiving a nod from everybody, he slowly opened the black book. "Once upon a time…"

-X-

A beautiful princess with her long caramel brown hair flowing down her back and lovely pink dress around her stood atop a chair as a redheaded seamstress took her measurements. The princess was known to be an honest maiden as well as a gentle one. However, the servants of the castle saw her as vain and selfish; it was difficult to work under her as much as it was prestigious to. She was kind to few within the castle, one of them being the royal seamstress who was now showing her an array of dresses for the ball.

"Ah, Sora, this gown is absolutely gorgeous, I am sure everyone in the village will simply adore it" the princess cried out in joy. "You are certainly the best at what you do."

Sora bowed her head to show her respect for the princess. "Of course, Princess Mimi, I worked hard on it all last night so that you would not be disappointed."

"Well then you succeeded!" Mimi giggled. Sora went back to collect her items and Mimi seemed to remember something. "Oh, that's right, I forgot to ask. You've met my new knight, right? Well, he seems to have taken quite a liking to you."

Sora stopped her packing and turned to the princess in surprise. "Really? I thought he was just making small talk with me. What makes you so sure?"

"Are you saying that I am wrong?" Sora quickly shook her head; she's known a couple of servants that had been kicked out of castle simply for disagreeing with the princess. "Good. And trust me, I can just tell from the way he looked at you. Perhaps I should have Sir Davis take his shift for a little while so that you and he may interact and socialize."

Sora blushed. "Oh, well, I appreciate the thought but you don't have to do that for me. I will find love on my own, I don't really need you to play matchmaker for me. And besides, Sir Tai is certainly brave and handsome but I don't think a knight will truly love a lowly servant such as myself."

"What are you talking about?" Mimi bent down and held her servant's hands in hers. "You are a fine maiden and a brilliant seamstress. You shouldn't doubt yourself, but if you want me to back off, I will. Besides, I am sure you will find a prince one day."

"…" Sora was both grateful and speechless but she smiled anyway. "Thank you, Princess. You and your parents have been so kind to me ever since you found me. I am truly in your debt."

Mimi smiled in return and then stood up. "Now then, we have about seven dresses left, why don't we see if one of them can be yours for the ball. Who knows, maybe we'll both find princes for us there."

"Maybe…"

Just then, another voice came from outside in the hall. "Princess Mimi, the duchess is here to see you!"

Mimi sighed. "Alright, I will be right there!" She turned back to Sora with an apologetic expression. "I'm sorry that I have to leave now. I wasn't expecting Yolei to be here so soon, she must've gotten the carriage ready earlier than usual for her ride here."

"It's okay, I can pick out a dress on my own and if I can't, I'll just make a new one."

"That's the spirit! Now then, the next time I come in here, I hope to see a beautiful princess."

"I promise you, Princess Mimi."

-X-

A young man with blond hair watched as his little brother spar with their training instructor in the way of the sword. The brothers were exceptional swordsmen but nowhere near as great as their teacher. The younger of the two, the one sparring, was beaten easily.

Their teacher, an even younger man, but a prodigy with a blade sheathed his sword and walked towards his student. "Prince TK, there is too much hesitation in your sword" he told him. "You also seem a bit unfocused today, are you okay?"

TK took a moment to regain his breath as he slowly got off his butt. "Yes, I am fine. There is nothing wrong with me."

His older brother chuckled in amusement of the lie. "Now we both know that's not true, go ahead. Why don't you tell Master Cody about what happened last night?"

Cody blinked and looked to the younger of the two brothers who was glaring at the elder. "What happened last night?" Cody asked, as emotionless and casual as ever. If one didn't know him, they might've thought he didn't actually care.

"I…" TK hesitated but figured it would be okay to tell him at least. Cody has been one of his best friends after all. "I met this beautiful girl last night and I just fell in love with her. But I don't even know her name or anything. I tried to talk to her but she didn't seem to notice me. Now I can't stop thinking about her. You must think I'm pretty hopeless now huh."

Cody shook his head and smiled towards the prince. "Don't be silly, of course I don't. I think it's good for you to fall in love."

"But she was a commoner."

"So?" Cody shrugged. "It doesn't matter what class she's in, such laws stating that you must be royalty to marry royalty was abolished years ago when your father fell in love with one of his maids. There's no need to be secretive about it or feel embarrassed."

"Even so, it isn't exactly common for royalty to fall for commoners, even if that law was abolished" the older prince stated.

"Then what about you Prince Matt?" Cody asked him. "Don't you think it's about time you settled down? Your father is getting older after all, according to the village doctor; he doesn't have much longer, especially due to his ailment."

Matt frowned and turned away from them. "There just isn't any girl that excites me or gets that feeling from my heart. That's why father is throwing this stupid ball; he's hoping I'll find a young maiden to spend the rest of my life with. He's just being selfish, looking at me as just his heir rather than his son."

Cody sighed. "You know, I'm starting to wonder why I even serve your family anymore. I'll be in my bedchamber if either of you two needs me. Oh, and be sure to look your best for the ball tonight."

The two brothers nodded out of respect for their teacher. "Right."

-X-

The door slammed open to the village library and the bespectacled redhead looked up from his book. "Izzy sir, it's happened again!" the villager huffed in exhaustion. "That warlock is back!"

Izzy didn't look up from his book but he did frown. He closed the book after finishing a sentence and it floated up and moved by itself back into its rightful place in the bookshelf. "I'll see what I can do" Izzy muttered as he took of his glasses and laid them on the table. "Take me to him."

"Yes sir!"

The villager and Izzy ran to where the sounds of screaming and the way other villagers were running from. Things had never been this bad before. "What the hell is that guy thinking?" Izzy wondered aloud.

They both stopped when they saw a black-cloaked figured choking a young man and others trying to stop him. But there was some sort of barrier around him and other villagers were distracted with a fire around them.

Izzy muttered some enchantments and the sky above them turned dark, rain pouring down and slowly putting down the fire. The cloaked figured stopped and looked over to the other wizard standing before him. The dark warlock dropped the choking man and grinned maliciously at the older wizard. "Well this is a surprise, usually it's the royal guards who come and stop me" the warlock cackled. "But this time, the man who sealed me himself has arrived to the party! Well this is truly a wondrous surprise indeed."

Izzy glared at him. "Why don't you take off that hood so that we can talk face to face."

The cloaked figured continued grinning as he took of his hood and his raven locks fell down his face. During his twenty years of imprisonment, he hadn't lost any of his maniac tendencies such a being polite to those he holds a grudge against. "Izzy, my old friend, I haven't seen you in years, you haven't changed a bit."

"You're not my friend Ken" Izzy muttered. "And who undid your seal? As far as I know, the only wizards in this kingdom are you and I."

"How cruel" Ken laughed. "Well, I wish I could tell you but I'm afraid I am held back by client confidentiality."

"I see…So the person who unsealed you needs you for some sick job" Izzy concluded. "I still don't know how this person undid the seal but this time, I am going to lock you up for good. So I hoped you had your fun but now it's over."

Ken only smiled. "We'll see about that." Izzy muttered a few more enchantments and lighting came down from the cloud above them striking the spot Ken was standing in a mere second ago. "Ooh, so close, but you won't be getting me this time."

Izzy wasn't about to give up though. "Heaven's Judgement…" Lightning rained down from above but each strike was easily evaded by the other wizard. Ken's evasion kept going until he was almost right in front of Izzy. Izzy noticed the glint of the knife before Ken had pulled it out from his sleeve. "Barrier."

Ken bounced back but he quickly regained his balance. He tucked the knife back into his sleeve. "Luckily for you, I have to recharge, being imprisoned for twenty years can really take a toll on your body. But don't worry, I'll be back soon."

Izzy glared at him and pressed his hands together, his right hand clenched into a fist and he drew it away from his left hand as if he was drawing a sword. A blade made out of lightning emerged from his left hand and he charged at Ken. The warlock was muttered some words underneath his breath and just as the sword was swung, Ken vanished into shadows.

Izzy growled in frustration as his sword dissipated into the air. "I can't believe he got away!"

"He's certainly crafty" a voice commented.

Izzy turned around and he saw the village doctor standing there with a couple of bags in one hand. "Doctor Joe, I'm surprised to see you out here" the redhead greeted. He looked over at the bags in his hands. "I guess you were just out shopping?"

"Indeed" Joe nodded. He adjusted his glasses with his free hand and walked past the wizard. "You should be careful nowadays. Lots of strange happening occur in the kingdom, best to keep on your toes."

Izzy blinked, Joe had intentionally said those words quietly so that only he could hear. He supposed that was all right and all, there was no need to cause panic among the villagers but it was strange, the doctor's house was in the opposite direction. "It couldn't be" Izzy muttered.

-X-

"Daydreaming on the job again newbie?" one of the knights snickered.

The older knight flinched out of his imagination and looked back to the other knight. "Sorry, I didn't mean to get distracted Davis" the elder apologized. "I guess I've been really tired lately or something."

"Heh, yeah right, you're obviously in love" Davis smiled. "You have the same face as I do when I think about Kari."

The knight chuckled at the mention of his younger sister. "I see, so I must be talking to the expert at this kind of thing huh" he said. "Well, it's no use thinking about it. What do you think I should do anyway? My mind's all muddled and if I don't focus on work, I could get kicked out of the castle."

"For now, look alive because the princess and your old mistress, the duchess, are coming."

They both stood tall as the two royal women passed by them, both giving them respectful curtsies as members of nobility should. The knights returned the gesture with bows of their own. "Greetings Sir Tai and Sir Davis" Mimi nodded to them. "I hope things are going well."

"They are madam" Davis bowed. "We hope the two of you are enjoying your brunch."

"Oh yes, very much so" Duchess Yolei told them. "We'll be off now, wouldn't want to distract the two of you from guard duty."

"Please do, I wouldn't mind from such lovely ladies such as yourselves" Davis grinned.

The two girls giggled and walked away after waving them goodbye. Tai released a breath he hadn't known he was holding once they were gone. "That was a close one, we were almost caught doing nothing" Tai muttered.

"Oh come on, you're overreacting" Davis laughed. "We not be focusing on the job but it's not like we're completely slacking off. Don't worry about it. Oh, and about your little love problem, just ignore it for now. You can deal with it during the ball; then you can confess your love to her."

"Are you sure? I mean, what if she doesn't accept my love or has someone else?"

Davis shrugged, not quite sure himself. "Then that's how it is, you can't do anything about that, it's not like you have any control of such things. You'll just have to patch up your heart and move on as hard as that may sound. Don't worry; I'll be by your side the whole way through."

"Thanks, you're a big help."

Just then, they heard rushing footsteps coming towards them and heavy breathing. They saw a brown-haired girl running towards them while holding her dress in her hands; she was truly beautiful with fair skin and shiny locks. Her amber eyes glittered, reflecting the brightness of the sun. "Big brother, Sir Davis, did you two hear the dreadful news?"

"Kari?" Tai blinked. "Well, that would depend, what exactly classifies as 'dreadful news'?"

Kari seemed scared of this news herself; as if she didn't want to believe it despite knowing that it was true. "I was down at the village when I saw it happen. It was that evil warlock, Ken! He's escaped from his seal and he has come to wreak havoc once again in the kingdom."

Both of the knights' eyes widened when they heard those words spoken. They were both young when the immortal warlock was sealed away. They had also heard that so was the wizard who sealed him. They didn't know much but everyone in the entire kingdom remembered the fear Ken caused with his black magic. The very thought of it frightened them all.

"What are we supposed to do?" Davis muttered.

Tai wasn't sure himself and he was the oldest on there, he felt he had some sort of responsibility but he was at a loss for an answer as well. "Who knows…I guess we just have to wait it out. Maybe the wizard will seal that warlock away again."

Kari clasped her hands together as if in prayer. "I hope so…I just can't bear the thought of losing anyone else to him ever again! Like mother and father…"


	2. Undoing The Seal

Izzy waltzed right into the room without even knocking but it was better than just appearing right next to the person he wanted to speak to. He saw the doctor in his seat while reading some medicine book. "Joe, I need to talk to you" the wizard told him sternly. "This is of a rather urgent matter."

Joe looked up at him past his thick lens with an emotionless expression and shut the book. "I would think so; you're not usually this rude. What is it that you want? I didn't see you or anyone get wounded by that warlock."

"I want to know if you have anything to do with it."

Joe simply stared back at him to show that he had absolutely no idea what the redhead was talking about. The doctor had to remind himself every time that the wizard was many years older than him despite the fact that he was looked so much younger than him, if he didn't remind himself then he would end up talking to him like he was an ordinary teenager from the village.

Joe returned the book in his shelf and turned to the wizard so that they could converse properly. "What you lack in communication skills you make up for in magic I see."

"Did you or did you not release Ken from his seal?" Izzy asked. If there was one thing he could not stand, it was people testing his patience.

And if there was one thing that Joe did not like, it was being accused of something without factual evidence. "What are you saying?" he retorted, eyes narrowed.

"You know of your lineage as well as I do. You're a descendant of the great wizard, Merlin, making you one of the few capable of undoing the seal. Don't think that I am unaware of such facts."

Joe sighed. "What would I have to gain for releasing an evil wizard out on the village?"

"What did your brother have to gain when he made that deal with him?" Izzy shot back. Joe didn't like anyone talking about his brother but he waited patiently and allowed the wizard to continue. "Jim betrayed the village and tried to kill us all. As his punishment, he was publicly executed by the royal family while the villagers cheered for his downfall. It is possible that you undid Ken's seal for the sake of revenge."

"…There are many flaws with your theory which is most unusual considering your exceptional detective skills" Joe muttered after a few seconds of silence. "First, I do not know how to utilize my magic abilities except for healing magic. Second, my brother had what was coming to him. And I do not like his name being spoken; he was just scum on the Earth for what he did."

This was infuriating to Izzy who grabbed the taller man by his collar. "He is your brother! Do you even know how I had live? Without my entire family?"

Joe glared back at him. "You're right, he is my brother but he is also dead! You know who your family is and you know they are alive. You see them every day but you are unable to interact with them and only I know why." His angry tone simmered down into a calm but threatening one. "Would you like me to tell the entire village about it?"

Izzy's grip loosened and he dropped the bespectacled man. "How did you know about that?" he asked, he almost sounded scared.

"My father told me, he figured it may become useful to me one day and surprise, surprise, he was right" Joe laughed. "Now I don't want to hear you running around giving everyone false accusations so run along until you catch the true culprit." He slowly returned to his work with a smile as Izzy turned away and walked out.

-X-

Everywhere they went, they seemed to be looked upon with great esteem. It felt kind of embarrassing for the prince but he was rather used to it by now. Usually, members of nobility would be in their personal horse-drawn carriages but the prince would much rather walk amongst his people. Now if only the people would actually walk amongst him rather than stare in awe.

"Prince TK, you know, you don't have to come with me to go shopping" his knight told him for the third time this trip.

"I told you I wanted to come, Noriko" TK replied. "Besides, you're always working so hard, I figured I could help you out this time around."

Noriko thanked him with a respectful bow. "You're much too kind sir." She turned back around and the prince could see both of her swords on her back, the hilts of both blades leaning to one of her shoulders. She was probably the only knight in his court that could match up to master Cody.

They both turned when they heard a familiar voice call out to them. "Prince Cody, Lady Noriko, it's quite a surprise to run into the two of you here in the village."

"Princess Mimi?" the two of them said simultaneously. The brunette royal came over to them with her beautiful smile and welcoming expression. "I'm more surprised to see you here rather than in your castle" TK replied.

"Well, I just came to see my wonderful Michael" Mimi giggled. Then she pointed to a familiar, pink-colored carriage. "Besides, I came in my royal carriage." TK and Noriko felt embarrassed for not noticing it earlier, they just walked right on past it.

At that moment, the merchant came out to greet them with his signature smile. "Well, greetings Prince TK, it is an honor to have two of the highest members of nobility to be at my store. What can I do for you?"

"Isn't he so sweet?" Mimi gushed.

"Um, Mimi, I thought you wanted to marry a member of nobility" Noriko reminded the princess. "You even said that you were going to find your prince at the ball tonight. Besides, I thought you and Michael decided to break it off a month ago."

"Yeah but we're still friends, it was a mutual break-up and even though we still like each other a little, it doesn't mean I can't search for an even better and handsomer prince at the ball!" the princess mused.

"I can't believe he's actually with her saying all of that in public" TK muttered under his breath.

The princess didn't hear it and neither did the merchant. "Speaking of 'princes', how is your brother doing TK? Has he still not found the 'right' girl or did he just give up on love thinking that it was just going to be hopeless?"

TK shrugged. "Probably both."

"It's such a shame, he is so handsome too" Mimi sighed. She then turned over to the only other female in the group. "What about you Noriko, have you found your prince yet?" Mimi tilted her head to the side when noticed that Noriko was looking off to their right and completely ignoring their conversation. "Um, Noriko?" The raven-haired knight suddenly brought both her hands to her shoulder and drew her swords. "Okay, I won't ask!"

"My prince and Princess Mimi; please stand back" Noriko told them.

The two complied when they heard a huge explosion. Noriko ran off in the direction of the sound and Michael ushered both royals into his store, away from the commotion outside and hopefully to safety.

"I have to go help her" TK muttered as he reached for his sword.

Michael stopped him by grabbing his shoulder. "I'm sorry Prince TK but I cannot allow you to go out there and fight, it is much too risky. It may be that warlock on the rampage again, it's better if we all stay in here for the time being."

"Michael's right" Mimi nodded. She was hiding behind the merchant, afraid of what might come if they followed the Noriko. "Let the knight do her job which is protecting you and at the current moment, us."

TK was just about to protest when he saw a girl outside the store; she was looking towards the fire before running away. When she turned away, he saw her brown locks flutter away to reveal a familiar, pretty face. "It can't be…" he whispered as he ran out of the store in a rush.

"Wait, where are you going?" Michael called after him.

There was no reply as TK was already too far to actually hear the merchant anymore. The prince just kept running, chasing after the young maiden that he had seen. "Miss, please, wait!"

The girl finally stopped, seemingly to have recognized his voice which was reasonable considering he was if the highest nobility in this kingdom. When she turned around and met eyes with him, it was like a rush of the azure blue sky meeting with the amber glow of a glorious sunset. "Prince TK? What are you doing out here? It's dangerous" she told him, her voice ringing like bells to his ears.

But she was right; this was no time to be allowing his own desires distract him from what was really going on. "Then we should go to a place where we can hide out until the danger passes" TK suggested. "Besides, I have something of the utmost importance I must ask of you."

She didn't know what a prince would want to do with her but she knew she didn't have much time. "I have to go back to my mistress, Duchess Yolei is not exactly a reasonable lady" Kari protested. "I'm sorry, but perhaps we may speak some other time."

"Duchess Yolei, does this mean you will be attending the ball my father is throwing?" She nodded in response. "Then please, come and find me there, I wish to speak to you my lady."

Another explosion could be heard and seen not too far from where they were standing, flying debris and pebbles landing around and over them but neither seemed to care as they stared at each other. "Maybe, I might…" she finally replied. "Now I must go." She fled in another direction and TK stood still for a few more seconds before finding a safe place to hide away.

-X-

Noriko could hear blades clashing into each other and the scent of blood wafted towards her and she felt as if she could slice right through the thick smoke in front of her. When she leapt into the scene with both of her blades in front of her, she was met with the knight Cody from the same court as her facing off against the warlock Ken who was holding a knife made of some sort of dark energy.

"It's such a pity, you're using something so long to fight against me but I have such a puny weapon" Ken laughed hysterically. "And yet, I'm coming off clean while you're forced to hold your sword arm."

Noriko's eyes were drawn to Cody's right arm, the one he used to wield his sword and noticed how mutilated it appeared. He was holding on to it tightly with his left arm while trying to keep his blade level. "Cody…"

"Noriko, get away from here, you won't stand a chance against this guy" Cody commanded of her.

Usually, the female knight would follow her superior's orders but this time was an exception in her book. "I'm afraid I cannot do that sir. It looks to me that in your condition, I stand a better chance against fighting the warlock than you do."

"Bold words coming from a woman" Ken chuckled. "Times surely have changed; I remember the day I was first born. All the women of the village were pretty much slaves to me unless they were able to please me in certain ways."

"You're pretty sick, you know that?"

Noriko charged in and swiftly made a feint as her first move, swinging her right sword but then pulling it back and stabbing with her left. Unfortunately for her, Ken foresaw this tactic and evaporated into a dense black smoke when the sword made contact with his body. He reappeared behind her, a couple of meters away and tossed three knives at her to which she countered with ease.

"Noriko, keep your eyes on both your opponent and those knives that just fell to the floor" Cody warned her. "He can still move them even when he is not near them." To prove his point, he pulled out one of those knives out of his wounded arm and threw it to the ground as he tried to bandage it.

"You need to go see the village doctor" Noriko told him offhandedly.

"The knives!"

She reacted quickly and deflected the knives that came in from three different directions once more.

"I admit, you're not bad, but you're going to have to do better than that." He began waving the knife in his hand around and when he swung it downwards, it seemed to extend and flex like a whip, from all over, it began to grow thorns, creating a spiked whip.

Noriko swore under her breath and dodged it quickly but while she was in midair, she was unable to protect herself from the knives coming at her once more. Thankfully, Cody came in and deflected the projectiles with his blade using his good arm.

"What are you doing, you should go and see Joe!" Noriko shouted at him.

He shook his head. "It won't do any good; there is some sort of magic poison that was in those knives. That was why I protected you. I don't think even a renowned medical wizard like Joe can heal it now. So I'll just have to go down fighting."

"That's insane; you've got to at least try!"

He pretended not to hear her as he stared down his opponent. If it was for intimidation, then it wasn't very effective with his useless arm hanging limply by his side. "You're not going to actually fight me like that are you? You must really want to die."

As emotionless as ever, Cody didn't respond and instead, he just charged in once more. Ken was fully prepared to block the blade with his knife if his foe was going to use it, which he didn't. The knight stopped short from a hair's breadth away from the tip of the knife and threw a damp and bloody cloth into the warlock's eyes. Ken jolted backwards and he pulled out the cloth but he was having trouble blinking away the blood.

With the time it took for Ken to wipe away the blood from his eyes, it was enough for the knight to stab his sword right through the warlock's heart. "I may have a code of honor but it means nothing if death is upon me" Cody said to him. "I'd rather take down my opponent with me than let him do more destruction." He slid the sword back out of his opponent and took a few steps back as if to admire his victory.

The dark wizard collapsed to his knees as he held both hands over the wound on his heart, his knife on the ground beside him. "You're not bad" Ken admitted as he coughed up blood. "I never would've believed that a knight of the king's court would resort to dirty tricks like that. But let me tell you this, there is still a chance for you to survive my poison, that is, if that village doctor is competent enough to know the only cure."

Noriko walked over to them and held one of her blades at Ken's neck while sheathing the other one. "Although I will need a direct order from the king, I'm sure his judgment will be the same as anyone else's in the kingdom. Execution! So, you better be prepared."

Ken chuckled darkly. "Sorry, but it won't be the end of me just yet. And besides, I don't think everyone in the kingdom will agree to that. There is someone in this kingdom who undid my seal…"

The two knights were not that surprised by it since they were told by the wizard Izzy that it was too strong a seal for anyone to break out of. "Then who freed you?" Cody asked. "And what is their motive?"

Ken's soft chuckle began to rise into one of maniac laughter. "As if I'm going to tell the likes of you! Sorry, but this is all confidential between me and my client."

"So this person needs you for something? What?"

"Like I said, my lips are sealed."

Noriko slit open his left cheek with her blade but he didn't even flinch. "That will be your neck next time if you don't answer our questions. Remember that we're the ones holding you captive now so you better just answer us."

The warlock only smiled and then he seemed to evaporate again into a black cloud of smoke, the two knights didn't even have a chance to do anything to stop him. He reappeared on the roof of one of the village houses.

"We'll talk some other time, perhaps over a cup of your blood rather than mine" he grinned. "For now, I've got to go get fixed up and Sir Cody, I expect for from you next time. I bid the two of you, adieu!" A black portal of some sort opened up from underneath him and he sunk in with the same emotionless smile plastered on his face.

Cody bit his lower lip and he sheathed his sword. "He got away again…"

"That's not important" Noriko stated. "For now, we need to get that poison out of your system and see to it that the princess and prince are - !"

She was cut off by a scream coming from where the marketplace was. The two knights didn't even take a second to waste as they ran off in that direction. They stopped and stared in horror at the sight of a pool of blood forming from underneath an unmoving body. The form of the princess was on her knees nearby, her face in her hands as she was crying.

Noriko approached the princess and knelt down beside her. "Princess Mimi, what happened?"

Mimi didn't say anything so Cody simply walked over and stared at the dead body before them. The male knight could see a knife made of Ken's black energy sticking out of his back. Cody slowly turned the body around and they simply stared at the face of the immobile victim."Michael is dead…"


	3. The Royal Ball

Cody gritted his teeth to hold in the pain as Joe finished tightening the bandages on his arm.

"You're lucky that you made it here in time before that poison spread throughout your entire system" Joe breathed. "If you were even a second later than the damage would've been done. I would've had to have been forced to amputate that arm of yours."

"Thank you, doctor" Cody breathed.

He was just about to get up and leave but both Prince TK and Knight Noriko stopped him, sitting him back down. "Is there anything you want him to do?" TK asked Joe. "You know, to make sure he heals completely."

"I'm fine" Cody stated firmly. "I just want to catch that warlock so that he'll pay for killing Michael."

Noriko shook her head. "We don't have to talk about that right now. Right now, what's most important is making sure that you're fine."

Joe turned back in his seat and looked to the group of three with all seriousness. "You two are going to have to keep an eye on Cody for a while. I can't be sure that I took out all of the poison from his body so you're going to have to bring him here once a month so I can do a routine check-up. Also, be sure not to have him do any strenuous work because if there is any poison left, then it'll spread at an unimaginable rate. Also, regulate his diet, he tends to consume too much protein, it's not good for his health no matter how muscular he is."

"Thank you doctor" the prince sighed. "Come on you two, let's go back."

"Oh, that's right" Joe stated, suddenly remembering something. "Prince TK, can you tell your brother to watch his back? It's rather likely that Ken may be targeting him considering he wants to take vengeance on your parents and one of the best ways to do that, is take away something important to them."

"What about me?"

"Well, I'm pretty sure you understand the situation well enough from this warning."

"Yeah, thanks again."

"It's my job, what am I supposed to do?"

-X-

Mimi had tried to forget all about the incident that had happened and just got herself ready for the big night. But standing in front of the mirror in that party gown had never made her feel uglier. It felt like she didn't even care about Michael's death and was just going to a festive party to celebrate rather than mourning for him. But she already made a promise to the high royal family that she would be there and it wouldn't feel right to break such a promise.

Sora came up, wearing the red silk dress that Mimi had chosen for her to wear at the ball. "Milady, the carriage is waiting for us outside. Are you ready to go yet?"

The princess didn't answer so Sora was about to repeat her question but then Mimi spoke. "Yeah, I'll be there in just a minute or so." She looked back into the mirror and had her hollow eyes stare back at her miserably. "I just…need a minute."

Sora watched Mimi in silence for a few minutes. "I'll see you then."

The seamstress closed the door behind her and walked down the stairs and out the main entrance. She walked up to the carriage where the knights were waiting for them. "Tai, Davis, it seems the princess will need a little more time."

"That's fine we can wait" Tai stated. "I don't think the festivities are going to end until midnight anyway. We can take the time to get to know each other better since I'm still a fairly new knight in the princess's court."

Sora giggled a little. "I apologize if not that interesting though. There isn't much you can really learn about me."

"That's fine."

Davis fidgeted at the driver's seat while Tai was talking to the horses. They had been nervous ever since the events that had happened earlier down at the village. Although they didn't appear to be nearly as nervous as Davis was at the moment.

"Sir Davis, is there something wrong?" Sora asked.

"No, nothing" Davis replied. "But I was just wondering if you knew if Duchess Yolei was taking Kari with her to the ball."

"Tai's younger sister?"

"Yes."

Sora thought back to her conversations with the duchess. "Well, I think she told me that she wanted to but Kari didn't. She said something about Kari preferring to avoid social events although it's a real shame, a maiden as pretty as she is would surely be the light of the party."

"Well my sister was never a fan of such activities" Tai sighed. "I can't say I really blame her. I'd feel so out of place at a ball meant for members of the royal class."

"Oh, that's too bad…" Davis muttered.

"Davis" Sora started, being able to put two and two together. "Are you in love Kari?"

Davis blushed uncontrollably as he stuttered his way past it. "W-Whatever gave you that idea?"

"It's written all over your face" Tai stated emotionlessly. "You can't really hide it well although it doesn't really matter all that much. Unluckily for you, my sister isn't oblivious; she is well-aware of your little crush." When Davis looked a little stricken with fear, Tai quickly continued. "Don't worry, she doesn't mind. She's used to many guys falling for her. But you're one of the few I actually approve of."

"Well at least that last part made me feel a little better" Davis sighed. "But Tai, you don't have much room to talk. It's not like you're all too good at hiding your affections for a certain lady."

Now Sora was curious. "Oh? And who is this special lady of yours?"

It was Tai's turn to blush but he didn't stutter in the same way his subordinate did. "Erm, well, you don't have to worry about it." He then turned on Davis with a rather intense glare and the younger knight shrugged innocently and walked away.

"I'm just going to leave you two alone. Call me when the princess gets out."

"It's dangerous to be on your own!" Sora called after him.

They couldn't see him from where he was now but they could tell he had patted the sword in its sheath on his waist. "I'll be just fine! Don't worry about me! Besides, if I get into trouble, you guys will probably hear me. Just have fun getting to know each other!"

They didn't have much time to actually talk though when Mimi finally came back out about a minute after Davis had left. "What are you two talking about?" she asked cheerily. She didn't seem as depressed as she was when Sora had seen her in front of the mirror. "It's not about me is it? Because I hear a lot of stories about servants badmouthing their masters behind their backs."

"We would never, milady" Tai bowed.

"Well, I'm glad about that at least" Mimi smiled softly. "So what were you two talking about? Are they stuff about things like your possible shared future together?"

"Princess!" they both exclaimed.

"I'm just kidding of course" the princess giggled. "Come on, let's get Davis and go to the ball already! They're probably waiting for us at the door by now." She opened up the carriage before Tai could get the chance to, despite it being his job to do it for her. She just stepped inside and Sora followed soon after.

Tai stood by the horses as he stared at the carriage as if he could see right through it and at the two maidens inside. He then side and walked off to find and retrieve the younger knight. It was obvious to him that the princess was only putting up a front so that they wouldn't worry about her. "But who does she think she's fooling?" Tai scoffed. "The 'honest princess', huh?"

-X-

The duchess arrived to the grand castle with the beautiful maiden by her side as well as the knights that accompanied the two of them. They were led through grand hallways and soon reached the ballroom, where the party was taking place.

"Welcome, Duchess Yolei" the maids greeted when the doors opened for them.

"Now this is what I call a reception!" Yolei smiled.

"It's not really my thing" her companion muttered.

"Oh come on Kari! Why don't you let loose once in a while" the duchess laughed. "I can promise you that we're going to have a lot of fun especially since we're here together. Not to mention you'll have many gentlemen callers looking towards you."

"I don't really think I want that" Kari sighed.

"Don't be such a downer."

"I can try."

The two women had barely taken a step further when suddenly; they were stopped by a handsome young man. He looked a little like the younger of the high princes but the two of them knew that it wasn't him when he took their hands and kissed the backs of them. "My fair maidens, may the two of you join me on this most festive night? I would simply love for you to keep me company for I am quite a lonely man."

"Duke Wallace…" both women said.

Suddenly a pink laced fan hit the duke upon the head and then the owner of the fan yanked the man away from them. "You're not going to be indulging in anyone" the gorgeous woman said in exasperation. "Honestly, can't you even go one minute without having to flirt with someone?"

"I'm afraid not my dear" Wallace said. "For I am a man of a weak heart and it flutters every time I set my eyes upon beautiful women. Someone such as yourself, for example, I–."

"Don't even finish that statement" the woman said.

"Marchioness Catherine" Yolei greeted with a respectful curtsy. "I haven't seen you in quite some time."

Catherine smiled back. "I should be the one curtsying to you duchess, you do hold a higher social ranking than I do. But to answer your question, I am fine, although I have been forced to babysit this one royal right here."

"I'm not that bad" Wallace chuckled.

"That's what you think" Catherine muttered as she dragged him away. The two blondes were waving goodbye as they left. "Have fun! We'll probably see each other again later tonight though!"

Yolei and Kari decided to go their separate ways so that they could enjoy themselves in the company of others, although Kari was slightly uncomfortable around all of the strangers and the fact that the majority of them were royals. More than half of the commoners that were actually there was either catering for the royals or knights to guard the inside of the castle. Although it was definitely strange for Kari to see these royal actually get food for them rather than wait for their servants to give it to them from the kitchen. It at least proves they are more capable than they actually let on.

"I wonder where Prince TK is…" Kari wondered aloud. She noticed that the hosts were there at least, King Hiroaki and Queen Nancy, were already there and entertaining some of the guests. "They seem like such a happy couple. I sure hope they stay that way."

"Welcome, Princess Mimi!"

Kari looked over to the entrance and saw the princess as well as her seamstress, Sora, walked in. On one side, there stood her brother, Knight Tai and on their other side, stood Knight Davis. Both were at the ready in case of any possible incident despite the fact that the castle was heavily guarded.

Kari took note that her mistress, Duchess Yolei walked over to that group as soon as they had come in and pulled Sora to the side. The two women walked over to the balcony and they shut the doors behind them, it seems they were going to have a private conversation so Kari decided to just leave them to it.

Sora looked up at the stars, taking in the view and breathing in the fresh air. "So, what did you want to talk to me about milady?"

"I was wondering about the princess's condition" Yolei told her after some slight hesitation. "I had heard that she had locked herself in after Michael's death. How is she taking it now? Well, I presume that she's doing a little better considering she actually showed up here."

"Yes, she's doing considerably better although I know she took it really hard" Sora replied. "I feel like I should be capable of doing something for her but I just don't know what. But I'm sure that with time, her broken spirit will be mended. There is absolutely nothing to worry about."

"Yeah, I suppose so."

The two of them were silent now as Sora looked around at the castle from the outside. She had seen all the guards from the outside but she was still worried about a certain someone getting in somehow. "Um, Yolei, do you really think that the castle is protected enough?"

"Don't even worry about it" Yolei smiled. "I heard that they had guards at every entrance and even at the secret passageways. Not to mention that all the royal guests here have knights inside to protect things that way. And of course, our lovely hosts have their two best knights inside as well, although their main jobs are to protect the knights."

"Have you met them yet?"

"No, they haven't come out yet. Why? Are you that eager to meet them?" Yolei asked suggestively.

Sora blushed but covered it by laughing, not very well though. "I was just wondering, Yolei, there isn't any need to make quick assumptions."

"Although…" Yolei breathed after a while. "I've got to say that you're really lucky Sora. You can easily find your happily ever after, even if it's not with a prince, you have a knight who happens to have taken quite a liking to you."

"Who? Tai?"

"Who else?" Yolei smiled. "The two of you can fall in love and maybe move out of this town, in one of those lands where wizards aren't a problem. Us royals, we can't really go anywhere because we have a duty to fulfill here."

Sora shook her head and opened the doors to the balcony. She didn't step through though, she just stared at the people inside for a few seconds before looking over her shoulder and back at Yolei. "There is no land free of problems, Yolei. Besides, falling in love won't happen so easily for me, love just isn't my thing. Besides, I'd never move away, not with Mimi around, I owe her and her family so much. And happily ever after is more than difficult to achieve…at least for people like me."

The redhead walked off, leaving Yolei to her thoughts. "Well, you don't have to be so pessimistic about it" Yolei muttered. "What's wrong with commoners and their negativity?"

As Sora went back inside, she caught sight of Kari not too far away. The maiden was about to go over and have a little chat with the youth, but then she saw Knight Davis approach. Knowing that the knight would want some privacy while talking to the one who had captured his heart, she decided to leave them be for now.

"Good evening, Sir Davis" Kari greeted politely. "I hope you and my brother are enjoying the festivities tonight."

"There is no need for formalities" Davis chuckled. "I just came here to talk. Can't we just converse like friends rather than members of a royal's court?"

Being at a party thrown by the high royal family had made Kari naturally switch to polite, and proper lady, so she ended up speaking to everyone in that manner. The young brunette giggled lightheartedly as she tried to make herself more comfortable. "Yes, of course. I'm always forgetting that."

"Anyway, Kari, there was something I was hoping to ask you" Davis continued shyly.

Kari knew that he wasn't one to behave shy or nervous but this was one of those rare times he did. "Go ahead. I'm not going to bite you anything."

"Well, it's just, I was wondering if you wanted to d–."

He was cut off by the herald who entered at the top of the grand staircase. He called all of their attention to him with a big announcement all prepared although it wasn't exactly some extravagant speech or anything. "Ladies and gentlemen! It is my honor to present to you, the princes of this fair land and the sons of your hosts, King Hiroaki and Queen Nancy, Matt and TK!"

Matt, the elder of the two princes came out first with Knight Cody by his side and they were followed by the younger brother who was accompanied by Knight Noriko. They walked down the staircase with their heads held high and magnificent smiles on their faces. Kari was sure she had heard one of the maidens squeal in pure excitement.

"I'm sorry Davis" Kari quickly said. "Maybe we can talk later. I've got to go talk to one of the princes."

"Oh, uh, sure."

Davis didn't seem so sure about it but Kari decided to brush it off. She hoped that whatever he had wanted to ask her wasn't that important. She pushed her way through the crowd but not too quickly since she didn't want to make herself seem too excitement or nervous.

TK was speaking to Marchioness Catherine when he noticed the fair maiden coming towards them. He excused himself from Catherine who also caught sight of Kari. The marchioness smiled and waved him off as she gave a wink towards Kari.

"You came" TK said when he was right in front of Kari.

"At your request, your majesty" Kari curtsied.

TK heard the music slow down and he watched as the chandeliers overhead glistened beautifully, reflecting the many lights in the room. He bowed low and held his hand out to Kari. "Would you care to dance with me, milady? We can talk later."

Kari hesitated but then gave him her hand. "I would be honored. But I must warn you, I have no experience dancing."

"That's fine with me."


	4. Your Loved Ones

Sora smiled as she watched the young maiden dance with the prince. She had never seen a bigger smile on Kari's sweet face although she was a bit worried about Davis, who stormed off with a rather morose expression on his.

"Love is such a confusing thing" the seamstress muttered to herself. She made her way through the masses and went back out onto the balcony with a drink in hand.

Sora sighed as she watched the stars twinkle above her head. "They're beautiful, aren't they?"

That hadn't come out of her mouth although she was thinking it. Even if she had been the one to say it, she would wonder why it was so deep. She turned around and saw the older of the two princes standing there. "Yes, they are" she said absentmindedly. It didn't even occur to her that she was speaking to one of the most important people in the land until after he joined her by her side to stare at the sky.

"Are you not enjoying the party?" he asked her.

Sora turned back to him and stared at his eyes, there was something sad behind them. "It's not that, your majesty, sir. I was just thinking that I needed some time alone. Festive dances like these just aren't my thing. You see…I'm just a servant of Princess's Mimi's court. I'm not used to things like this."

"I see" the prince replied. "I don't really like balls though. Particularly this one."

"Hm? Why not?"

Matt stared at the partygoers and waved to one of the marchionesses who were trying to get him back inside. After getting the girl to go back to the festivities, he looked back at Sora and she saw the flash of sadness behind his eyes again. "My father is only throwing this ball to try and get me to fall in love with a maiden. He's worried about the future of this kingdom and he believes that I need a queen by my shoulder when it is my time to rule."

Sora looked back at Kari and her dance partner. "It looks like your brother already achieved that."

"I can tell" Matt sighed. "And I'm happy for him. He deserves it."

"Then what's wrong with you?" Sora asked. "Is it this whole dilemma with the warlock?"

"It's not that" he shook his head. He seemed to be saying that a lot that evening. "I just don't think I'll ever find a maiden for me. It's not like I feel like I'll be alone for the rest of my life but I just don't think one will fit with me."

"Why not?"

He hesitated, not sure if he should actually say anything but one look at Sora and he opened up. "I was in love once before but it didn't exactly work out. I had my heart broken and I just don't think I'm capable of falling in love again because I'm too afraid of getting hurt."

"You were in love before?" Sora asked. "Who was she? Actually, I'm more surprised she rejected you, it seems to me that almost every maiden at this ball wants you to fall in love with them."

Matt didn't answer so Sora decided to change the subject. It was rather fun really, just having a conversation and it felt like the two of them had completely forgotten their social class differences and they just that they were both human. That was the only thing that kept them talking with each other like normal people. Suddenly, Matt answered her question from before even though it had been left hanging in the air for the past hour.

"It was Mimi."

"What?"

"The maiden I had been in love with" Matt clarified. "I was in love with her for such a long time and I had tried to confess to her. But on the day I tried to, she told me that she was with the merchant, Michael before I could even say anything. I had thought for sure that she had felt something for me but I suppose I was wrong. I was left with my heart shattered. And I feel ashamed now too because I felt this little joy when I found out Michael was dead."

"Do you still love the princess?"

Matt shrugged. "I don't know."

Sora wasn't sure what to say, she was absolutely dumbfounded by this revelation. She remembered in her youth, that Mimi would always talk about how handsome Matt was and how she wanted to marry him one day. So it seemed strange that these two royals were unable to fall in love. "Maybe you could try again. You never know."

"No, I don't think so" Matt replied. "Something tells me that she won't be able to move on from Michael for a long time. Not after what had happened. Do you know if she's doing okay?"

Sora searched for the right words and it seemed as if she was expecting to find those words somewhere in the stars. "She…She took it pretty hard actually. I thought that she was actually thinking about not coming here. She seems more cheerful now but it might just be a front she's putting up. Perhaps you should go talk to her. You never know, you might make her feel a little better." 'You might be able to cheer yourself up while you're at as well.'

"Maybe later…"

"Geez you're stubborn."

"I'll be taking that as a compliment."

-X-

Izzy walked up the castle and was stopped by the guards out front. When they had realized that it was the red-haired wizard, they immediately apologized and stepped aside for him to pass through. It's not like he had royal blood running through his veins but these knights sure did act like he did.

"I'm not here to visit or anything" Izzy shook his head. "I just wanted to make sure this castle was secure. I have a feeling that the warlock may target this place."

"We thank you for your concern but we promise you that we have this place locked up tighter than the maximum security prison" the head guard replied.

Izzy didn't like the sound of that analogy, it definitely made the place seem secure but still, comparing it to a prison was probably taking it too far. "Perhaps I should drop by for a little a while" the wizard said shortly. "I could visit the royal family and see what the king thinks about all this."

"I'm not sure if that's such a good idea" the head guard replied. "Or at least not the best time."

Izzy almost forgot about the ball the royal family had thrown, oh wait, no he hadn't. The entire castle was lit up like the firefly fields down south from the kingdom, it would be impossible for someone to miss it. As a matter of fact, Izzy could see it two miles away without having to use any clairvoyance magic.

"I guess not" Izzy muttered. "Well, I suppose I'll just stick around. You never know when you'll need magical assistance nowadays." Before any of the knights could protest, he snapped his fingers and vanished into thin air.

-X-

"You are a truly marvelous dancer" TK smiled warmly.

"Thank you" Kari giggled. "But I don't deserve all the credit. I do have a wondrous dance partner after all. If it was anyone else, I'm pretty sure I would've stepped on their feet already."

The prince chuckled in amusement. "You don't give yourself enough credit."

"Maybe I don't" Kari giggled. She soon stopped dancing and TK did as well. "I'm sorry. I just feel like, we just met but it feels like…I don't even know how to describe it. It's just this weird feeling that the two of us have…"

"Met somewhere else?" TK finished for her. Kari's face is flushed red but it doesn't stop her from nodding. "Yeah, I know what you mean. It feels like the two of us have known each other in another life or something, some alternative universe. A place where we know that neither one of us could exist without the other."

"Are you…Are you in love with me?" the maiden finally asked.

"I think I do."

TK was slowly leaning in for a kiss and Kari knew that but instead of kissing back, she just pulled away when he is a mere millimeter away. The brunette apologizes several times as she walks away from the dance floor, followed right behind by the prince.

"I'm sorry" she said for the hundredth time. "I just don't think this is right."

"I don't care if you're not a royal" TK said quickly, thinking that was the problem.

She shakes her head as she rubbed her sleeveless arms. She wasn't cold; she was just trying to find some sort of justification to what she was thinking. "No, it's not that. I just think that it's better for us not to rush into anything. We barely know each other and suddenly…It's all just happening so fast. I need time to think about some things."

TK grabs her arms and turns her around so that he can look her in the eyes. "I'm the one who should be apologizing; I treated you like I already had you to love me. It was narcissistic and arrogant of me. I will give you as much time as you need, I can promise you that. Please forgive me, fair maiden."

"It isn't your fault for anything but I thank you for giving me such an enchanting evening" Kari smiled. TK knew that her lips were off limits but he was still able to plant one soft kiss on her cheek which made her blush. "You know Prince TK, if you wish to court me, than we should really be getting to know each other a little better."

"I agree" he chuckled. "Why don't we stand over there so that we can get a little more privacy?"

"I don't mind."

Davis watched as the laughing pair ran off towards one of the balconies to talk in private together. It made him feel sick to his stomach but seeing Kari smile so beautifully was enough to keep him from swinging his sword and committing high treason. He then noticed that the older of the two princes was conversing with Sora and he had to wonder if Tai was dealing with it okay. It didn't exactly seem like the prince and the seamstress were having any romantic connection like his younger brother was with Kari but still. These two were basically strangers but they talked as if they had known each other for the longest time.

"You're not bothered by it?"

Davis glanced over to his right and bowed respectfully when he saw that it was Princess Mimi who had spoken. "I am afraid you have to elaborate milady. You see, I'm not quite sure what you mean by that."

"I'm talking about Kari's interactions with the prince" Mimi said knowingly. "I know how you feel about her. Tell me, how are you able to handle seeing the one person you hold so dear to your heart, taken away from you by another?"

"Honestly, it hurts. But as long as she is happy, then I will be as well,"

Mimi looked from Davis, and then to the pair of Kari and TK. For a moment, the knight through he saw the princess glance over to Matt and Sora as well but that may be because of Tai's affections towards Sora, which makes sense since her eyes did wander to Tai as well. "You have a strong will Davis. It is much stronger than mine that is for certain."

"Are you talking about what happened to Michael?"

"My heart is pained and drenched in sorrow over his death and I think of nothing more than to find his murderer and have him burned at the stake. But at the same time, I know that Michael would not have wanted me to become so vengeful. My will is weak compared to yours, noble knight. You have my respect."

Davis was surprised, there was genuine sadness and regret in her voice although everyone in the kingdom would love to see the evil warlock burned on the stake, he understood her reluctance to actually enjoy the very thought of it. No matter how you put it, no matter how much you try to justify it, it is still murder. But that's going to be Ken's punishment if he is ever caught, not getting re-sealed, because that went so well the first time, but death.

"It must be hard" Davis muttered. "To see your loved ones disappear before your very eyes."

"Do you know of the rumor surrounding our kingdom wizard, Izzy?" Mimi asked.

"What rumor?"

Speak of the devil and he shall appear, Izzy seemed to fade in from the background but no one really paid any attention to him. He was there but everyone walked past him as if he wasn't. He was just leaning against the wall, arms crossed, staring as princess conversed with the knight. Even from afar, he could hear them loud and clear.

Mimi glanced around, as if to make sure no one was eavesdropping. Her eyes glazed over the very wizard she was talking about but she didn't seem to notice his existence at all. "Apparently, decades ago, when he was still a fresh teenager, he had fallen in love with a beautiful princess who reciprocated those same feelings. But of course, back then, they could not marry for they were not of the same class. She was a royal, and he, a simple villager at the time.

"But nothing could prevent them from being together; they shared many secret nights, where they found only the deepest love for each other. Rumor has it, the princess bore his children, and not her husband's but they kept it secret and they ended all communication with each other to prevent any suspicion. It broke Izzy's heart to watch his children grow up without him as their father but he was forced to put up with it. It is really a sad story."

Davis looked around at the gathered royals. "So you're saying that someone here could be that princess's illegitimate grandchild?"

"It's possible but it is only a rumor" Mimi shrugged. "But you know what it means?"

"That they've been living a lie."

"No" Mimi giggled. She then turned towards the nearest balcony, staring at the twinkling stars with a pleasant smile. "It means that that person has grown up with a little magic inside of them. Something so special and rare but they don't even know it."

"So what?"

"It's not just them though. I think this rumor was made so that it could be a lesson to us all. There is something magical inside each and every one of us, we just can't see it. But hopefully, one day, someone else will."

Davis blinked, he knew that Mimi was always honest and spoke her mind, meaning you never know what could come out of her mouth but this was just surprising to him, in a good way. He couldn't help smiling and laughing a little as he did so. "That was really beautiful."

"Thanks" she smiled. "But what I was trying to say was that, even if Kari can't see what a great guy you are. I can guarantee that some other beautiful maiden will."

"Perhaps" Davis nodded. "How old do you think Izzy is?"

Mimi shrugged. "I'm not so sure. I think someone once said that he was over a century old but I don't think anyone bothered to actually ask him. It must be kind of sad, to live so long and watch friends and family die and even forget your own birthday. I wonder if he feels the most pain out of anyone in the kingdom."

Izzy finally turned away from the conversation but he did not make himself visible to anyone, he simply walked towards the entrance of the ballroom. At the entrance, he sees knights Cody and Noriko standing there, talking about the evening and how they should try and protect the princes if something happens. At this point, the wizard finally makes his presence known to them and they aren't even shocked when he suddenly appears from thin air.

"Izzy, what are you doing here?" Cody asked.

"I heard about your fight against the warlock earlier" Izzy replied. "I wanted to make sure that the two of you are all right."

"We're fine" Cody said but then the female knight glared at him and he huffed in exasperation. "Noriko is fine" he corrected himself. "I got poisoned and the doctor prescribed me to stay safe. No vigorous training or anything potentially extra stressful."

"I can understand that" Izzy nodded. "Now I want both of you to listen very carefully to me but don't repeat it to anyone else here." He waited for both swordsman and swordswoman to nod before continuing. "Ken is here right now."

Neither of them seems very surprised by this revelation as the wizard found his own entrance in despite being not invited to make people feel more secure. Magic wasn't the most trustworthy thing in this time and age, especially with their history of evil mages.

"What can we do about it?" Noriko asked. "I mean, obviously, Cody is in no real condition to fight."

Cody unsheathed his blade a little. "I'm capable of cutting him down to size if it comes down to it."

Noriko shot him another glare. "It's like you want to die from the poison in your system."

Izzy turned away from them and his presence slowly faded in with the background noise but they both knew that he was still standing there in front of them. "Just leave it to me. Trust me; I can handle him on my own. Just make sure to evacuate everybody from the castle if Ken does plan on striking."

It's clear to Izzy that neither of them can make that promise but they nod nonetheless.

"I just hope you know what you're doing."


	5. Crying Princess

Tai finally gathered the courage to interrupt the conversation between Sora and Matt, although he tried to be as polite as he possibly could about it. "Prince Matt, is an honor to meet you and I'm probably not even worthy enough to even speak to you, but is it okay if I borrow Sora for a moment?" the knight asked.

"Tai!" Sora partially scolded. "You can't just cut into our conversation like that!"

"It's fine" Matt chuckled. "I've taken enough of your time anyway. Knight Tai, it was a pleasure to meet you. And Sora, I hope we'll be able to chat again one day."

The prince turned away with a remorseful smile and walked off, blending in with the crowd of other royals. Sora sighed as she turned her focus to the knight; it wasn't like she was upset that Matt left, she was a little grateful in fact. She was running out of topics to talk about although the silence felt rather comfortable too.

"What is it Tai?" she asked.

Tai took a deep breath. "I know this may seem like a silly reason for me to interrupt your conversation with the prince but it's rather important to me. If I may be so bold as to ask, may I have the honor ofone dance with you, milady?"

Sora blinked and then giggled a little. "If that's what you wanted, then you should've just asked me earlier."

"I couldn't find you" Tai said jokingly.

Sora placed her hand over his as he started to lead her away from the balcony, towards the dance floor. "I would be delighted but I warn you first, I'm not the best dancer."

"Well, neither am I" Tai grinned.

Mimi watched the two of them dance the rest of the night away, not really in the mood to do much else but it did cheer her up a little, seeing Sora and Tai smile the way they did. Her head turned a few degrees and she caught the other knight she had brought along with her sneak out of the ballroom. She wondered if Davis had enough of seeing the maiden he had fallen for, fall for another.

"It must be hard…" Mimi sighed.

"Princess" Yolei smiled as she came closer. "I hope I'm not interrupting your thoughts."

"No, you're not" the princess replied, slightly dejectedly because she really did want to be alone with her thoughts for the rest of the night. "Are you having fun duchess?"

"Oh, yes, very much so, although, probably not as much fun as our handmaidens have so far" Yolei laughed. "I only invited Kari to tag along because I thought she needed to loosen up. And then suddenly, I turn back to her and she has become friends with one of the princes! I wonder if the two of them will fall in love. Well, Kari better remember the person who brought here in the first place for this enchanting evening."

"You just want her to include you in their royal will" Mimi laughed. It was forced though, she really wanted Yolei to go away but she couldn't simply say that to her best friend out loud.

But Yolei didn't need to hear it; she could tell that something was off about the princess that night. "Are you okay? I know everything must be hard for you…"

"Not as hard as things have been for Davis" Mimi replied sullenly.

The duchess raised one eyebrow in confusion, not knowing why Sir Davis would be feeling more troubled than Mimi. "Why what happened to him?" Although it didn't take long after she had said that to realize what was going on. "Oh, it's about Kari isn't it? Well, it's his own fault! He's known Kari for years; he should've just told her those three words that every maiden wants to hear from a potential lover."

When the princess didn't respond to that, Yolei's arms dropped from her hips and fell to her side. "But I'm more concerned about you. Why should you be bothered with how Davis is feeling right now?"

"Because he is hurting far worse than I am."

"How? Michael died!" As soon as those words slipped past Yolei's lips, she realized her mistake.

Mimi tried to blink away the tears that were threatening to drip down her cheeks but to no avail. "At least I knew that Michael loved me before I lost him! And what is so wrong with feeling bad for your subordinates? Answer me that Yolei!"

"I'm sorry…" was all Yolei could blurt out as people were starting to stare. "I understand, please don't cry."

Sora separated from her dance partner and pushed her way to her mistress. "Mimi, please stop crying, you're always saying how unladylike it is, especially at a big event." Mimi shook her head vigorously as she buried her face in her hands and started sobbing and shaking uncontrollably, so Sora turned to the duchess instead. "Duchess Yolei, what happened?"

"I…I mentioned Michael…" Yolei admitted shamefully. "But I just blurted it out! I'm sorry…"

"Its fine, I'm sure it was an honest mistake" Sora hushed. "Come on Mimi; let's take you to the washroom to get you cleaned up." Mimi continued sobbing as her seamstress carried her off, not noticing the prince following them.

Matt soon caught up with them when they were in the hallway; he was accompanied by Knights Cody and Noriko, just in case. "Princess Mimi" he called to her. "Sora, you don't know your way through the castle right? Here, I'll lead you two towards the washrooms."

"Thank you your majesty" Sora nodded respectfully. Sora wondered if Matt really was still in love with the princess. It might be a good thing for Mimi to move on from Michael.

"Just refer to me as Matt" the prince replied. "There is no need to be formal."

A small smile formed on Sora's lips. "Yes, I keep forgetting that." The corners of her mouth dropped again as she returned her focus back to her mistress. "Mimi, are you going to be okay?"

Mimi finally uncovered her face and rubbed away the remaining tears. "Yeah, I'll be fine" she nodded. "I can go to the washroom on my own. You two and the knights of course, should go back to the ballroom and have fun. Don't concern yourselves over me."

"I don't want to leave you alone" Sora replied.

"And with that evil warlock on the loose, it might be better to have some protection" Matt added.

"Sir, I will not allow you to fight if something bad happens" Cody insisted.

Noriko coughed and took her senior's sword away from him. She tossed it over to the prince despite Cody's protests. "I'll be the first one to attack and Matt will just come in if it seems necessary. Besides, you're the one we should not allow to fight, not in your condition anyway."

"This is absurd" Cody huffed. "I'm a knight of King Hiroaki's court; I should be the one protecting the royal family, not the other way around."

"Then don't think of it as me protecting you" Matt shrugged. "Think of it as me protecting these two fair maidens."

"Thank you" Sora nodded as they made it to the washroom.

Mimi entered alone, wanting a few moments to herself and her thoughts. "I'll be right out."

Inside the washroom, Mimi went over to wash her face. As she stared at herself in the reflective stone they used to see their reflection, she felt someone in there with her. She knew it wasn't anyone she was just with in the hallway and she was sure she didn't have to worry about it being Ken considering he always had this malevolent feeling when he was near. So there was really only one person she could think of to be.

"Izzy, what are you doing in here?" she asked.

In the reflective stone, she saw the air in a certain area compress and soon become a person. His red hair fell in his face as he stared at Mimi with the same concerned expression Sora had just moments before.

"I just wanted to make sure that you were okay" Izzy replied. "You seemed really upset."

"I'm fine" she replied unconvincingly. Not once did either of them try to look each other directly in the eyes, they just looked at each other in the stone. "You didn't have to bother with me; you have a job protecting this castle in case Ken gets in."

The wizard didn't want to make her panic by telling her that the warlock was already there. "I know" Izzy said instead.

"Then is there anything else you wanted to say to me?" she asked.

"Why did you tell Davis that story about me? No, a better question is, how did you know that rumor? I thought it was extinguished years ago."

"My grandmother told me it" Mimi shrugged. "She used to tell me it before passed on. Telling it to me whenever I felt down to remind me that there might be a little magic in me, something to always feel happy about."

"…You know, I knew your grandmother when she was young."

Mimi sniffed and smiled, her voice breaking a little as she thought about her grandmother. "Yeah, she told me that to. Apparently, I looked just like she did when she was young and my mother even gave me the same name. I miss her so much…"

"You do look a lot like her…" Izzy agreed with a nostalgic smile. "It is terrible you know."

"What is? That I look like her?"

"No" he shook his head. "What you told Davis…About how I live for such a long time and I see my friends pass away. You're grandmother was one of them, she was a wonderful woman. And losing her and my other friends…It's a terrible feeling."

"I can imagine" she nodded. "…Is it true?"

Izzy didn't have to guess what she was referring to but he did hesitate before answering and the princess took note of that. "No, it isn't…" He then turned his back to her. "I never loved a princess nor have her bear my children. I don't have any other family…"

"Do you ever want to start a family of your own?" Mimi asked.

"…No…I don't think so…"

"Why not?"

Izzy produced a small ball of compressed lightning in his hand. The small washroom now had the sounds of crackling electricity bouncing off the walls. "I don't want to give someone else these powers. Not because I'm selfish or anything but I'm too afraid of corrupting them with magic. You've seen all the wizards who have fallen from grace."

"You mean like Ken and Jim" Mimi nodded solemnly. "You don't think the same thing will happen to Joe, do you?"

"To him? I don't know…I wish I did…"

"Well…I'm sure everything will be all right in the end."

Izzy wished he could be as optimistic as Mimi was but with at least eighty more years of experience than her, he was sure she didn't have as good an understanding of the world as he did. But there was no way he was going to bring her down now of all times. "Yeah…Me too…"

"Liar!" she smiled. "Izzy…I understand that you're trying to preserve that 'innocence' and 'naivety' of mine but trust me, I understand that not everything can be viewed in a positive way. But that's how I want to see the world. If you're always looking at things pessimistically then all you're doing is digging a ditch and then asking yourself to jump into it. Try looking at things with a smile for once."

Izzy chuckled. "You are just full of inspirational words of wisdom this evening."

"I guess I get that from my grandmother."

"Yeah, you do…"

Mimi felt herself feeling better already and it was just her luck; that was when everything went wrong once more. The cold and malevolent feeling washed over them first before the earthquake happened, they could hear panicked screams coming from the ballroom.

"It looks like you have a job to do" Mimi said quietly.

Izzy stared at her for a few moments before giving her a warm embrace. "I'll be sure to take care of Ken so that you don't have to. I won't have Michael die for nothing."

Mimi returned the gesture. "Thank you…Just come back safely…"

"I will, and you stay safe…"

The wizard opened the door out of the washroom at the same time Sora pushed it open, the latter getting surprised. "Hello Sora" Izzy nodded simply as he rushed through the hallway and back into the ballroom.

"What was he doing in here?" Sora asked.

"Never mind" Mimi replied. "What's going on?"

"Ken attacked…We should really be getting out of here."

"Where did Matt go?"

"He ran into the ballroom before any of us could stop him, now come on! We've got to get out of here!"

The princess stared at the door to the ballroom for a couple of seconds as more people were trying to flee the castle, barely giving Knight Davis, who had left earlier, any room to get back in and assist the other fighters. After ten agonizingly long seconds, she nodded just as Sora grabbed her wrist and started running off. It wasn't long before a scream from the duchess caught Mimi's attention and prompted her to run back.

"Mimi, what are you doing?!" Sora shouted.

Mimi just ignored her servant as she quickly got behind Davis, who had not noticed her presence, and the two of them found their way back in the ballroom in no time. Mimi gasped at the horror of the sight, almost every single warrior that a socialite had brought along with them had fallen. The only ones really left standing, other than Davis, were Tai, Matt, Noriko, and three others she didn't recognize. Izzy was there as well but it seemed like none of them could do anything while Ken was holding Duchess Yolei by her purple hair.

"Make any sudden movements and I will kill her in an instant" Ken warned with a triumphant cackle. "That's all it takes."

"Help…" Yolei sobbed.

Izzy's eyes scanned the room and when they fell on Mimi, they widened for a moment but he knew he had to concentrate on their enemy for now. "Just let her go Ken, you have nothing to gain in taking another innocent life."

"On the contrary" Ken laughed. "I gain the satisfaction of knowing you have taken another loss while I take another victory."

"You're a cruel man" Noriko growled.

"And you're a snarky woman" Ken grinned.

"Just tell us what you want and we'll give it to you in exchange for the duchess's safety" Matt said. "I can offer you almost anything unless it is another human life."

The dark warlock scanned the room in the same way the other magical being did but with a much motre sinister intent in mind. "What about your own life prince?" Ken asked. "I won't kill you; rather, I will take to a secret chamber. I've never tortured a royal so high up on the social food chain before; it could be fun just seeing the kingdom squirm without their beloved prince."

"Absolutely not!" Noriko shouted indignantly. She ended up biting her tongue when Ken took out a knife and made a rather large cut on Yolei's thigh, causing the duchess to scream in pure fright.

"Well?" Ken waited.

Mimi wanted to say something, to shout at the warlock at the top of her lungs to stop what he was doing. She looked over to the prince and she saw that he had lowered his sword, it seemed like he really was going to give up his life.

Tai seemed to have thought the same thing. "Prince Matt, are you sure about this?"

"What choice do I have?" Matt growled. "Yolei may be a duchess, but she is still one of my subjects and a prince is responsible for the safety for their people. I need to do something…"

Noriko wanted to stop him but one look from her master and she knew she needed to back off. The prince dropped his blade and started to walk towards Ken with his head held high, there was no way he was going to let this low wizard was going to make him look like a fool.

Ken's smirk got wider as he loosened his grip on the duchess. But at that exact moment, Mimi couldn't take much more.

"Stop it!" she screamed. Everything in the room seemed to freeze in time, even Ken. The princess looked to the warlock with tears flowing freely from her eyes, and it was clear that no one had ever seen so much pain on her face until then. "Please, just stop hurting people! What have we done to deserve all this suffering?"

Ken was silent at first, with not even the smallest smug grin to hide the honesty in his next words. "Have you ever grown up where everyone is amazed by your abilities and they're only impressed with you because of that? All they see is that genius, as a tactician and a magician, but they never see you. It's painful, knowing that all they need you for is magic but not to just be there. That's why I despise you mortals so much, because you just don't understand."

He gripped his knife tighter and he was just about to cut Yolei's neck when a hand grabbed his arm. Ken's head jerked upwards to come face to face with Izzy who had somehow closed the gap between them in such a short amount of time.

"There are few but they're there" Izzy stated.

"What?" Ken snapped as Yolei started hyperventilating between the two mages.

"People who care about us for more than just our magic."

Izzy yanked Yolei out of Ken's grip and she landed in Matt's arms who tried to drag her father away from the scene. Unfortunately, just as Izzy shot a bolt of lightning at Ken, the dark warlock became a puff of black smoke and reappeared in front of the prince. He blasted a wave of black energy at them and with no weapon to protect them, all Matt could do was dive to the ground while pushing the duchess to the other side.

Yolei got up quickly and tried to crawl away just as Noriko and Davis charged in with their swords at the ready. Izzy who was trying to get a clear shot of their enemy now couldn't with the two knights in the way. It was useless anyway; their metallic weapons meant nothing to someone who could turn himself into vapor.

Yolei had gotten to her feet with the two knights distracting Ken so she tried to reach the outstretched arms of her best friend. Mimi waited for the hug from the duchess which would never come as Ken appeared between them causing Yolei to run right into the sword Matt had dropped earlier. Mimi's eyes widened in pure horror as the duchess spurted out crimson red blood.

"This is what happens when someone comes between me and my goals" Ken said.

He grabbed the lifeless socialite by the throat and even from a distance; they could all see that Yolei's blood was mixing with her tears. Ken threw the motionless body out the balcony and Mimi chased after it, sobbing when they heard the sound of a heavy weight hitting the hard ground.

"Oh God…" was all Mimi utter as she stared at the duchess's body. She covered her eyes as she tried to calm down through breathing but it wasn't working. All she could think about was blood and those last words Yolei had spoken before death.

"I'm sorry…Mimi…"


	6. Davis's Conversations

Mimi leaned over the edge of the balcony but was careful enough to avoid puking on Yolei's body. Once she had lost those fluids and solids, she shakily fell to her knees as she tried to refill her lungs with air. She could hear the fighting still happening behind her and she wished it would just stop, someone was dead and they were too busy in combat to actually notice. It was just cruel, no matter how abrasive or boorish Yolei was; this was a kind of death, no living being deserved.

"Please…No more fighting…" the princess sobbed into her knees.

She felt like she was sitting there for hours and when she finally opened her eyes, she realized that she had passed out. She found herself in her bedroom chamber, inside of her castle. At first, she thought that it was all a bad dream but then she found that she was still in her ball gown.

The doors to her chamber opened and Sora entered. "Mimi…You're awake."

"Sora…" Mimi looked out the window and saw that it was still dark outside. "Sora, what happened? Did I pass out at the ball? Did everything happen, happen? Is Yolei…?" She didn't want to finish that last question and it was clear that neither did Sora.

"You should just rest for now" Sora told her.

"Yolei…She's dead…Just like Michael is…"

"It wasn't your fault."

She knew it wasn't but so far, the only two victims of Ken were connected to her in some way, it almost felt like she was cursed. "Sora…I want you to promise me that you will stay alive. Stay away from that warlock at all times."

The seamstress blinked, wondering in amazement how the princess could still be concerned with her safety over her own. "Of course. But I'm more worried about you."

"I'll be fine" Mimi replied. "The worst thing that can happen to someone isn't death you know, it's losing the people you care about."

"Mimi…"

The princess's own words struck a chord as she realized something else. She pulled herself out of bed and grabbed her handmaiden's shoulders. "Sora, were there any other victims? Did anyone else…die?" The look that Mimi was giving her was a strong signal that she wanted an honest answer from her.

Sora shook her head quickly as she could until it felt like her head would snap off. "No one died but there were a lot of people who suffered injuries. The village doctor, Joe, checked out everyone to make sure they were okay. The princes were lucky enough to escape with only a couple of bumps and bruises. Noriko's only got one lethal gash on her left thigh but she'll survive to say the least. The wizard lost vision in his right eye after it was stabbed. But the worst is for Davis, we didn't really need Joe to diagnose what was wrong with him."

Now Mimi was worried. "Let me see him."

"I can just tell you –."

Mimi cut her off. "Sora, I want to see my knight. Bring him in here but…First; I want you to tell me a few things. What's going to become of the duchess's body and what is the status of Ken?"

"Ken escaped but not before suffering serious damages from the warriors and the wizard so I doubt we'll be seeing him any time soon" Sora replied. "As for the duchess…It seems that her servants have the choice of being ordinary villagers or asking another royal to stay with them. Kari already asked us and Tai already answered for you by allowing her. I hope you don't mind." She got a nod of approval from the princess so she continued on. "As for Yolei's funeral, it's in a week, we're expected to be there to pay our respects."

Mimi bit her lower lip to prevent the tears from spilling. "Of course…Now…Sora, please bring Davis in here so that I may seem him."

"Yes, milady" Sora bowed as she left the chamber.

Mimi sighed as she walked over to the window and looked out of it. She was impatiently waiting for her knight to come in so that she could dispel the anxious feeling that something horrible happened to him. Although, judging by Sora's expression earlier, there was no doubt that some terrible did happen. She just had to be prepared for the worst, meaning if Davis came in being carried by her other knights because he broke multiple bones. That was the worst thing that could happen next to death she supposed.

The sound of wood banging on the stone floor consecutively approached her chamber and with each bang, it became progressively louder. It perplexed her to a point until she heard Davis's voice huffing in exhaustion.

"You wanted to see me, milady?" asked Davis.

'Did he break his leg so he has to use a crutch?' Mimi wondered. It would explain the wood banging on the floor consecutively as if he had been walking. It wasn't as bad as what she had imagined so that was good. She turned around and gasped in horror at the reality. "Davis! Your leg!"

Davis' left leg was gone; it looked like it was completely chopped off at the knee. It was professionally wrapped up in white bandages and he held one wooden crutch to keep his balance. The princess had been expecting broken bones, not the horror of a missing leg.

"Yeah, I know it looks bad but I'm doing okay" Davis said, forcing out a chuckle. He couldn't fool the princess; she knew he was still in pain. "The doctor said it was a miracle that I learned to balance myself on this crutch so quickly."

"Davis…" Mimi breathed after a long moment. "This is my fault. I could've taken another knight with me instead of you and you got hurt because of it."

Davis shook his head as he felt himself losing his balance so he used the wall to support him. "No, it's not your fault. I was the one who insisted on going with you. It was my own foolish and selfish desire to see Kari that pushed me to go. And besides, you couldn't have known that Ken would show up there. None of this is your fault."

"But still…"

"Don't beat yourself over it" Davis continued. "You're the princess, your people look up to you. If your subjects start to see you losing your calm head then they'll start to panic as well. You're a strong maiden, and that's all you need to remember at the moment."

"Thank you Davis" she nodded. "It's ironic. I asked to see you because I wanted to make you feel better but it became the opposite." She felt her eyes drawn to the missing leg so she just had to pop the question. "How does it feel?"

"Honestly? Awful" Davis admitted. "I've found a new respect to veterans who fought in wars and came back with missing appendages. But that's not the worst of it…"

"It's not? Then what is?"

"What's worse than missing a leg is simply knowing that I won't be of any use to you anymore" Davis chuckled. "How am I supposed to protect you if I can't even stand without using one of my hands? My duty as a knight in your court was to protect, and now, I have become obsolete."

"You know that's not true."

"Well what use am I to you with only one leg?"

Mimi took a long time to think about it before figuring out an answer. "I heard that you have a taste for cuisine, why don't you join the kitchen? If you do really well then I can promote you to head chef. But I apologize in advance if you feel you're not putting in enough effort for me."

Davis smiled though. "That would be great; I'd love to assist you in any way possible. Besides, I make some pretty noodles, I'm sure you'll enjoy it."

The princess smiled in response. "Yeah? Well, I'm excited to try them. You can start tomorrow, and I think I'll just ask for your specialty for lunch."

"Then I'll make a special batch just for you."

"I look forward to it."

The now former knight and the princess soon parted ways after bidding each other a 'good evening'. It wasn't much, but it certainly helped Mimi feel a little better, conversing with one of her servants as if nothing bad had happened. She just hoped that they would be able to enjoy the little peace they had for a time. Now there was just one other thing to do.

'I still have to see Izzy tomorrow.'

-X-

Davis stumbled out the back door of the castle which connected to the kitchen, it was his first day on his new job and he was pretty good at it according to the other chefs. He just needed a break now and then; he wasn't used to the intense heat the kitchen could get up too at times. It wasn't nearly as hot as it was when he and Tai had to go into the volcano to slay the village terrorizing dragon.

He was getting better at keeping his balance without his crutch which was a good thing. Last night, he was actually leaning over several times while talking to the princess and if it hadn't been for his crutch, he would've embarrassed himself by falling on his face. That probably wouldn't have reassured Mimi in any way that he was okay.

He heard a splash coming from the creek a couple of yards from the back of the castle and he decided to walk towards it. He grabbed his crutch and slowly limped towards the sound and he soon found the princess's newest servant washing the clothes there.

"Kari, you're working already?" the former knight said.

Kari looked up and almost dropped the dress she was holding in her hands. "Well, I wanted to be useful to the princess since she was so kind to take me in after what happened. And besides, it helps me get my mind off of certain events."

"I understand what you mean" Davis nodded. Being a knight meant a lot for him and being able to protect someone made him feel needed, losing his leg shattered that part of him. He had to say, he was lucky that Mimi could find another purpose for him inside the castle so quickly. "I'm really glad you're here, you know."

"…Thanks" Kari muttered.

He noticed that she was doing the exact same thing that Mimi had last night. Her eyes were constantly being drawn to the missing leg and he could probably guess what she was thinking.

"You know that this isn't your fault right?"

She shook her head. "I ran back in there because I wanted to help my brother and then Ken targeted me with that attack. And you…"

"I protected you."

Kari stopped midway in their escape when they saw the duchess fall from the second floor balcony. It was a mortifying sight but the thought that it could happen to her brother was far worse. She pulled herself out of TK's grasp and ran back inside the castle quickly being followed by the prince.

"Tai!"

"Wait, Kari, it's dangerous to go back in there!"

TK said that but he wanted to get back inside too, Kari wasn't the only one terrified for her brother. He was wondering about the condition of his own. The two got back into the ballroom soon enough and they found that the battle had reach intense heights with Ken pushing back all his opponents.

Tai was caught in a stalemate at the moment, his sword against Ken's dagger. Unfortunately, he had gotten in the way of Izzy lightning bolt which he was forced to hold lest he hit the knight.

"What do you think you're doing, are you trying to get hit?" Izzy shouted.

"Huh?" muttered Tai. His distraction was enough for Ken to push him back.

"Now!" Izzy threw the lightning bolt at the same time Kari ran towards her fallen brother. Ken wasn't dumb enough to stay in one place though; he used his dark energy to extend the dagger and started charging towards Kari. The bolt of lightning crashed into the floor and now the handmaiden was in danger.

Neither TK nor Izzy would've been able to make it in time to push her out of the way but Davis was close enough to get in the way. He tried to use his sword to parry the attack but the dagger wasn't aimed for his body, it was a feint and instead cut the lower part of leg clean off of his body. The knight fell down onto his back and released an anguished scream as he was grabbing onto his thigh. Kari had collapsed to her knees and she was paralyzed in complete fear when she saw the blood spurting out from his leg.

By this time, TK and Izzy got to them. TK grabbed Davis's sword and stared using it against the warlock with some assistance from Noriko. Izzy stayed with Davis, determined not to have someone else die so he used his magic to stop the bleeding at the very least.

"Kari, got out to the village and get Joe here, now!" Izzy ordered.

Kari was still unable to move so Tai got up and pulled her out of her trance. "Listen to me Kari, if you go and get the doctor back here as soon as possible, then there will still be a chance to save Davis. You have to go!"

His little sister stiffly nodded before running out of the ballroom and out of the castle in a hurry. By the time she had gotten back, the warlock had vanished and Davis had passed out from all the blood loss. Joe bent down beside Davis and immediately started treating him, the others would wait and they were all willing to wait.

"It looks like there's not much I can do" Joe muttered. "He'll live but unfortunately, I can't do anything about the missing leg."

"Can't we just build a wooden or metal one for him?" Noriko suggested.

"We can ask the village blacksmith" Joe shrugged. "But an artificial leg is going to take a lot of time to make, it could take weeks or even possibly months. I'll go to him as soon as I've finished treating the rest of you and ask him to build one."

"Thank you Joe" Kari said. When he went over to treat Izzy's eye which has apparently been cut after Kari had left, she sat down next to the knight's side. She grabbed his hand and placed it against her chest as she cried for him. "Why did you have to go and do that for me?" she whispered.

Davis's eyes fluttered open for a moment. "Don't cry Kari, it doesn't suit a lady such as yourself. I'll be fine."

"But why did you do it?"

"…Because I love you…"

Kari looked away; she had never felt so guilt in her life. "That doesn't mean you have to put your life on the line for me. It was just reckless! Do you have any idea how I would've felt if you died trying to protect me?"

"There are things far worse than death."

"…Like what?"

Davis limped towards her and touched the top of her head. "How do you think I would've felt if the maiden I had fallen for were to die? I would've killed myself for not being able to protect you. That's why you should be happy that I only lost a leg. It could've been worse, you could've lost me or I could've lost you."

"Davis…" Kari sniffed. "I'm sorry…"

"I told you, you don't –."

She shook her head. "Not about your leg. I'm sorry I can't reciprocate your feelings towards me."

"I don't care about that" he chuckled. "All I care about is that you're safe and happy. So if you love someone else, then I will be just fine as long as you're happy with him."

"Thank you Davis…" Kari smiled. "You're always there for me when I need it, aren't you?"

"I try" he shrugged. "So…I hope you don't think this is prying into your personal life too much but is there someone you're in love with?"

The first person to come to mind was TK and she knew that he was the one Davis was referring too. "To be perfectly honest, I'm not quite sure. I think that the prince may be in love with me but I'm not sure if I feel the same way towards him. I guess since I've never been courted by anyone before, I don't know what love feels like just yet."

The only reason a lady as fair as Kari had never been courted by someone before was because they would always have to go through Tai and his criteria first. None of them ever got past his approval. But Kari didn't know that.

"Love is definitely a complicated emotion" Davis sighed.

"Can you describe it to me?" Kari asked.

The question caught the former knight off guard but surprisingly, the answer came very easily to him. Perhaps it was because he was speaking to the very person he felt love towards. "I guess…Love is a feeling when reality becomes better than your fantasies."

"Then it'll be impossible for me to know" Kari sighed. "With that warlock running around, reality isn't a very nice place, is it?"

"No it isn't" Davis agreed. "But I guess what I meant was…When just talking to the person you feel attracted to is better than imagining your perfect soul mate kissing you. Simply put, you'd rather feel the real affections from someone rather than the affections of a perfect person. Because the real person, is perfect to you no matter what."

"In that case…I don't think I'm in love but maybe someday…"


	7. The Olden Days

Izzy touched the eye patch over his right eye and winced. He couldn't really say it would be of any use anymore. He had lent Joe all his books on medicinal and healing magic, hoping something in there would help his eye. Joe told him that it might take a while before finding anything and that there was no guarantee that his eye could be healed. But Izzy didn't really care at the moment; he was more concerned over repairing Princess Mimi's broken heart.

"I hope you don't think I'm intruding on you or anything" Mimi said.

"No, it's fine" Izzy quickly replied. He could detect the hint of hurt in her voice; it was obvious that she blamed herself for the events that had transgressed the previous evening. "I wasn't really doing anything of importance anyway."

Mimi was looking around his grand library full of magic books. She didn't need any of them of course but it was the only thing she could do to distract herself from his eye patch. "Do you have all of these books memorized?"

He shook his head. "Even though I've been alive for a little less than a century, I have not yet come around to reading every single one of these books."

"You get sidetracked by other things?"

"Or I simply get bored. Either one."

The princess giggled. "So wizards are just like the rest of us."

"I don't expect to be different" Izzy chuckled. "How are you doing?"

"…I should be asking you that" Mimi said in response. She put down the book she had in her hands about mind control and possession to look at his face more deeply. With slight hesitation, she gently brushed her hand over his right eye, he didn't even flinch. They simply stood like that, looking at each other. "Is your eye even…there anymore?" She was a little scared of what the answer could've been but he nodded his head so she released a breath she hadn't even known she was holding.

"It wasn't stabbed too deeply so Joe was able to fix it up but I can't see anything form it" Izzy explained.

They were silent now, Mimi had moved her hand away from his eye and she had it hanging by her side. "I wish there was something I could do…"

"You sound like your grandmother" the wizard mused. "She was always concerned with others and their well-being. It was even more so since Ken first showed up during her era. You shouldn't worry so much, everything will be fine, I promise." He wasn't so sure if everything would be fine and Mimi knew that. He might've been saying that to reassure himself but it was ineffective.

"I hope so…" Mimi muttered. "I was really worried about you though. You tried to protect Yolei, I was afraid you might've been blaming yourself for what happened to her."

"That's funny…I was afraid that you would be blaming yourself."

Mimi shook her head. "Sora cleared those thoughts from my head already. I was hoping to do the same for you if you were feeling such a way. But I suppose only I would do something as stupid as blame myself for something that was out of my hands."

"That's not true" Izzy blurted out. "I…I blamed myself for what's been happening to you. Losing people all around you, I feel like there should be something more to do. It must make me sound stupid if I'm not blaming myself for the deaths of Michael and Yolei and rather for your sake."

"Why do you care so much for me?"

Izzy looked up and stared at her in the eyes before turning away quickly. "Because I made a promise to your grandmother that I'd always protect your family. In her final hours, she gave this to me which I think should belong to you." He took off a heart-shaped locket that he had hidden underneath his shirt and placed it in the princess's hands.

She opened it up to find her face in the locket but she knew that it wasn't really hers, it was her grandmother's. "The servants are right, the likeness is uncanny…But why are you giving me this?"

"Because it shouldn't belong to me" was all Izzy could say.

"Well…Why did she give you this in the first place?"

The princess could see how much he was hesitating to tell her. "I think it was because I was her only friend still alive. You see, all of our other friends, and even her husband, had all either died from old age or from some battle, I was the only one left. You were around four at the time when I was called to the castle to see her."

"How did you and my grandmother meet?"

Mimi wasn't sure if Izzy wanted to replay those fond memories of her ancestor but he then spoke up. "Her father, your great grandfather, wanted me to protect her even though I was still generally new at magic. Perhaps he believed that it would be better for her to have a mage by her side instead of knights. I did as I was asked and protected her since she was at the age of ten and I, twelve. Even though I was just supposed to be her guardian, she was always trying to be friendly with me; she hated me because I always behaved indifferently towards her or acted like it was simply my duty to defend her, nothing more. It wasn't long before my 'duty' became my desire to protect her. She was my closest friend…"

He sounded like he was on the brink of crying. "It sounds like you loved her more than I did."

"Well…I suppose you can say that it's because I didn't have many friends other than her" Izzy chuckled. "She was certainly someone special, being able to bring a smile on someone's face no matter what the situation was."

"I'm sorry for making you remember all that."

"Don't be…It's reminded me of why I need to protect you and the kingdom from the warlock. It was all very special to your grandmother, so it's all special to me as well."

"I wish I was as great as she was."

Izzy grabbed her hand and quickly pulled her into a close embrace, breathing in her scent as he held her. "You are so much like her…It sometimes breaks my heart when I see you because I mistake you for her. But you're not; you're your own person but someone truly special."

Mimi returned the embrace. "Thank you…" After they released each other, Mimi took a few steps towards the door. "I should be going now…My new chef is preparing a meal for me."

"Davis?"

"How did you know?"

The sheepish smile the wizard returned to her only made her giggle as she walked out the door. They waved to each other and soon as she was gone, Izzy sat down in his chair at his desk. He closed the door with a wave of his hand and he sighed. He was bothered…He had no idea how to deal with Ken and now there was a second thing weighing on his mind.

"What am I supposed to do?" he whispered.

-X-

TK stared out the window as he watched Cody instruct the new knights that their court had gained from the duchess's death which seemed very wrong in his head but what were those knights going to do? After the previous night's events, his father had asked for seventy-five percent of the knights in Yolei's court so that they could increase security at their castle. He knew that it was important to do so, he just wished it didn't feel like taking advantage of someone's death.

"How are your wounds?" Noriko asked from the door.

"They're fine" TK muttered.

She was able to detect the curt tone he was giving her so she walked over to him and sat down on the windowsill beside him. "What's got you so moody today?"

"My father…"

"Ah, so it's the usual."

TK got back inside and started randomly rummaging for nothing around his bookshelves, he was just doing it to occupy himself. "It's just, he's kind towards the kingdom and his subjects but when it comes to me and Matt, he's incredibly oppressive. He won't even let us go down to the village unless we have a score of knights to accompany us."

"He's only trying to protect you" Noriko reminded. "That's the only reason he's so tough on you two."

"I know…But sometimes, I wish he wasn't always around…"

"That would either make the kingdom a matriarchy or your brother the new king and I don't think he wants that pressure on him right now" the knight said. "Besides, in another world, it's possible that he isn't always around. And I'm sure that TK misses him very much."

"So you say…" TK scoffed.

"You should be happy with what you have." Noriko was about to leave his room when his voice called her attention back.

"Do you know whatever happened to Yolei's handmaiden, Kari?" he asked.

Noriko stopped and a few thoughts struck her. "Oh, I see now, you're not bothered by the fact that you can't leave the castle without extra protection, you just feel like you'll never have another moment alone with your maiden anymore."

He blushed. "Sh-She's not my maiden! She told me that she had to think about it…"

Noriko chuckled. "Well, to answer your question, I heard that she is working at Princess Mimi's castle now."

"So she didn't want to work here?"

"Her brother is there."

"…Yeah, I know."

Noriko sighed and walked back to him, straightening his back and then lightly slapping his face. She stared into his puzzled eyes with an expressionless face. "You have self-esteem issues and you tend to behave as if the world should revolve around you…It's good thing you're handsome." She left it at that and left the room.

"Well that was weird…" But he supposed he couldn't really blame her but he didn't completely agree with her either. He walked back to the window in time to see their new knights sparring and Knight Taiki had just beaten Zenjirou who reacted badly and immaturely to his loss. It kind of reminded him of a match between him and his brother, he was Taiki though. "Wish I could go back…"

-X-

Sora went over to help Kari bring back the clothes from the river so that they could hang them to dry. As they were doing so, she noticed Tai watched from a second floor window. He stuck his head back inside when he noticed that she had seen him. She had to wonder though, was he looking at his little sister or at her?

After she had finished that one job, she went upstairs and found him at his usual station, outside the armory. "You look like you're hard at work" she remarked after he greeted her.

"I always am."

Sora nodded with a knowing smile. "So, it wasn't you who was just watching your sister and me."

"Sorry if it looked like I was spying" he sighed. "I was just kind of worried about Kari since she just started working here and everything that had happened with her previous mistress. I just can't believe all that actually happened last night though."

The seamstress nodded in agreement. "I know what you mean; it was only a week ago that we were able to walk the streets of the village without having to worry about getting ambushed by an evil warlock. We're living in scary times."

"Do you think that things will always be this way for the rest of our lives?" she asked. "Constantly living in fear?"

He shook his head. "I don't think so; it's bound to end eventually. Izzy is far more powerful than he was the first time this had happened and the knights have even improved since our ancestors. Cody and Noriko nearly killed him the day Michael…Well, you know."

"But now Cody can't fight anymore" Sora reminded.

"But he's training knights now and they're learning to be even better than he is."

Sora stared at him for the longest time and she was starting to realize why Kari had said her brother was one of the most eerily optimistic people she knows. But she also mentioned that his positive attitude was incredibly contagious. The handmaiden giggled. "Then perhaps you should ask him to teach you. Your skills have been a bit lackluster lately."

"Hey! That's not true!" he exclaimed. He sounded a bit upset but inside, he was happy that he could smile back on her face. "As a matter of fact, I've gotten way better with the way of the sword."

"I bet I would be able to beat you just like how I've always beaten you at village soccer."

"You were always lucky."

"I think I'm lucky just having you here to protect everyone."

Tai paused as he let these words settle on his mind. He felt the heat rush to his cheeks and he noticed that the same thing happened to Sora which meant she had just realized the words that had left her mouth. He wasn't quite sure what to say and neither was she, thankfully, the other guard on duty beside him spoke up.

"Miss Sora, I think it might be best for you to check up on the princess and make sure she doesn't need anything else to be done around the castle."

Sora and Tai were both happy to get out of the awkward silence. "Yes, thank you, Sir Kiriha" she said. "I'll see you later Tai…"

"Yeah…Later…" Tai nodded. Once she had gone down the stairs, he turned to the blonde knights next to him and bowed gratefully. "Thank you…"

"No problem."

-X-

Ken grumbled to himself as he sat in the dark cave, nothing seemed to be visible from three feet away from him. All he could do was sit there and pout like a child who had just been punished by their parent. He glared over to the person hidden in the shadows.

"I don't understand why I have to be your underling" he spat spitefully. "And of all people, why did it have to be you?"

"Be quiet" the person replied. It didn't sound high enough to be female and yet, it wasn't deep enough to be male, the gender was unidentifiable from voice alone as it would seem. It could be female if she was speaking softly with barely any emotion in her voice. "You're irritating."

"Why are you doing this again?"

"To get revenge."

"Ah right…" Ken nodded. "Although, I have to ask, don't you think it's kind of a petty grudge? And furthermore, don't think that all of these deaths are unnecessary?"

"You're the one who caused mass destruction years ago."

"Yeah, but I was signed under a contract with Jim and that was back when destroying stuff was loads of fun" Ken told her with a giddy smile. It dropped instantly and he slouched as if the most depressing memory had resurfaced in his mind. "But then I was sealed away for several years and I was forced to do nothing was think and these thoughts about moving to some quiet countryside away from all of this stupidity of living with mortals came to me so I resolved that if I was ever freed from my seal, then I would do just that. But then you had to drag me into one of my contracts!"

Another voice came from the opposite side of the first. This one could easily be determined to belong to a male. "It was kind of surprising at first. I thought it was strange for a mage to be bound by contracts in order to survive on Earth but apparently, you're not even a mage."

"No…I'm the creation of a demon" Ken replied emotionlessly. It was clear he didn't like talking about his past. "That demon used his own genes and implanted them into me and my older brother, we became monsters. But at first, we used our powers for good and everyone treated us like we were incredible prodigies but then they started calling upon us for only their selfish benefits. My brother and I were fed this greed for years until it consumed us and we ended up hating mortals despite having been ones before."

"But you're not a demon" the first voice stated. "Why must you need contracts?"

Demons would only die if they were to walk upon the Earth but if they had a contract signed with someone (Sometimes multiple people), they are able to survive. Even if they are released from a contract, they still obtain their payment, the person's soul but they must immediately return to the underworld until they are called again by an ancient ritual forgotten in history.

"No, technically, I am not a demon" Ken agreed. "But the genes imbued into me render me unable to withstand the content of Earth air, just like other demons so I must have a contract to share in the genes of the mortals to which I am bound to. In which case, you are the person I share such capabilities. My mother signed a permanent contract with us so that we may stay on this world forever. Unfortunately, because she signed a permanent contract instead if a normal one, she must endure the pain of her soul being torn out of her for the rest of eternity. I can hear her screams even up to this very day. She was a foolish woman…I'd rather die than live like this…"

The second person didn't seem very comfortable with listening to this so he decided to return to a subject to something closer to their original one. "So if you're neither demon nor human, then what are you exactly?"

Ken smiled this time. "Exactly what I have been called for decades…A freak."


	8. Dinner Invitation

**Tai: Hey, TK, what are you doing?**

**TK: I was just looking at the reviews for Forbidden Tales. Apparently, this guy thinks I'm out of character but he apparently didn't point out all of the things wrong with everyone else's character.**

**Mimi: That's true. I mean, since when was Joe so cool and collected all the time?**

**Joe: Hey! That's just mean and rude.**

**Sora: Izzy also seems cooler than he actually is.**

**Ken: And I'm nothing like how I'm portrayed in this. Even when I was the Emperor, I wasn't this messed up. Not to mention what a stereotyped teenager I was being in the previous chapter.**

**Cody: Let's not forget that Davis is unusually sensitive and considerate. Not to mention how accepting he was that Kari didn't have feelings for him.**

**Davis: Shut up. Personally, I think Tai and Sora are way too lovey dovey in this.**

**Matt: Not to mention the fact that TK and I seem to be just filled with teen angst.**

**Tai: No, that's pretty accurate…For you at least.**

**Matt: That is so not true!**

**Izzy: We were placed in a medieval setting where our characters grew up in different circumstances as our canon representations so it's no surprise that we're slightly "out of character". The person who sent that in as a review must not have realized that fact.**

**Zero Unit: Will you all get back behind the fourth wall?! You're supposed to be back on set for the next scene!**

**Yolei: Well, while we're still here…Why did you kill me off so soon?**

**Zero Unit: Get out!**

**Yolei: You are the worst silver screen writer/director ever.**

**Takuya: We here at Zero Unit Productions do not apologize for any OOC-ness seen in the characters for they are perfectly intentional. We apologize for taking up your time and please enjoy our regular program. Leave a review!**

**Zero Unit: You're not even in this story!**

-X-

Davis scratched his head as he sat there in his bed. He didn't feel like getting up anytime soon, ever since he lost his leg, he's been unwilling to do much. And as a chef only working during lunch meant he didn't have to get up until two hours before midday. It's not like he didn't appreciate the fact that the princess found another job for him so quickly but he missed being a knight.

Someone knocked on his door. "Davis, are you up?"

It was Sora. "Yeah, I'm up" Davis replied. "Come on in."

Sora walked into his room and picked up the bin where all his dirty clothes went. She looked at him and noticed how he was still lying in his bed. "Did you just wake up?"

"No, I've been up for a while now" Davis chuckled. "I just haven't been so inclined to get of bed just yet."

"It's kind of strange" Sora sighed. "Usually, you're up by now, patrolling the castle or something. It feels rather weird for me to actually have to knock on your door to come in and do my chores." She noticed how his expression became a little sad upon hearing the duties of his old job. "But you're great as a chef. You're cooking was great, even head chef Yuu complimented you on it!"

"Yeah, thanks" Davis smiled unconvincingly. "Well, I should probably get up and head to the kitchen before he gets mad at me for being late again."

He swung his legs over the bedside and Sora turned away quickly, she didn't think she could ever get used to seeing him with only one leg. It wasn't the first time she had seen a person missing a limb before but this was one of her friends, it was difficult for her to stomach because it just made it clear to her that any of her other friends could be victims as well.

Davis wasn't used to it either as he stared down at his legs. The first few days had been difficult because he kept forgetting that he needed a crutch to walk with and constantly fell over as he tried to get out of bed.

"Sora, could you hand me my crutch?" he asked. "I was frustrated before going to bed last night so I threw it across the room."

Sora did as he asked and handed his crutch over to him. "Do you need any help getting downstairs?"

"I'll be fine?" he replied. "I heard that Ken attacked the village yesterday and that Tai went out to fight. What happened?"

"Tai's fine" Sora said. "But Kiriha and about seven other villagers were badly injured. There were about eighteen casualties, no one we really know but I'm afraid that it won't be long before something terrible happens to one of our friends."

"You shouldn't worry so much" Davis huffed. "Where's Kari?"

"She received an invitation from the high royal family to have dinner with them so the princess is helping her prepare for it" Sora said slowly. She knew how the former knight felt for the young maiden but to her surprise, Davis smiled.

"I see" Davis chuckled. "I hope she has a good time then."

"You're not upset or jealous?"

"Why should I be?"

"Well…It just seems like the high prince, TK, has feelings for her."

"Kari deserves to be happy and she chooses the prince over me than I'm perfectly fine with it" Davis said. He stared at Sora for a long while and started thinking about how his senior felt about the seamstress. "I wonder if Tai would agree with me."

"Huh? What was that about Tai?" Sora blinked.

"Nothing…"

-X-

"You seem really nervous about this" Mimi commented.

"Well I've never been invited to have dinner with such a high member of nobility" Kari said. "I'm just afraid I'm going to embarrass myself in front of them or something. Why did they even invite me in the first place?"

"Well the king has been wanting his sons to get hitched already so I'm assuming that someone saw you with the prince the night of the ball and told the king who in turn, did the only thing he believed was reasonable and invited you over to see if you're fit to marry his son" Mimi explained quickly.

"What?" Kari blinked. "Marriage. I-I'm much too young for that."

"Too young?" Mimi repeated. "You're twenty, six years past the eligible age for marriage."

"I still feel too young!" Kari practically shouted. "I mean, you're twenty-two and you're not married yet!" The maiden covered her mouth. "I am so sorry for speaking such foul things your majesty."

Mimi waved it off but it was clear that she was angry when she started brushing Kari's hair like she was whacking some devilish beast. "I don't mind at all that you said that. It doesn't make me feel like I'm a hag that will never get married. Please, go on about your problems and pretend I don't have feelings like you."

"I knew it! You are angry!"

"I told you, I'm fine!"

The door opened and Sora walked in a young handmaiden pointing an accusing finger at a princess with tears coming out of her eyes. The princess sat there with angered eyes and triangular shaped mouth like she was in the middle of spewing frustrated nonsense. The seamstress tried to decipher this odd image in front of her but came up with no conclusions. So instead, she grabbed the sewing kit she had wanted and left the room, closing the door to prevent anyone else from randomly walking into the embarrassing scene.

"So, I think I might need your help in picking out a dress for dinner" Kari said quietly after Sora was gone.

Mimi was done brushing Kari's hair and now she was putting it in a delicate braid. "I'll ask Sora to finish that new pink dress she was going to make for me."

"No, I could never borrow one of your dresses" Kari replied. "Not that I wouldn't appreciate it but it just wouldn't feel right."

"Its fine" Mimi shook her head. "I've never worn it before and I can just ask Sora to make me another one."

"Well, if you put it that way."

"I promise you that everything will be fine tonight."

Kari was silent after a few seconds before an idea came to mind. "Mimi, would you come with me?"

-X-

"Noriko, why did you invite her over here?" TK practically yelled at the knight.

Noriko rubbed the ear he had shouted in and gave the prince a dirty look. "You were depressed over the fact that you could see her so I asked your father if he could. He excitedly agreed when I told him that she was a maiden you had fallen for."

"But how come I didn't know about this until now?!" the prince groaned.

Matt walked over to them and he could tell that his little brother was being overly dramatic again. "What's wrong with you? You're acting as if father decided to place more restrictions on us."

TK straightened himself up so that he could be eye level with Matt but also so he could turn his head more easily between the two other occupants of the dining room. "Our good knight, Noriko, here, decided it would be a good idea to do something behind my back."

"And now he's sulking because of it" Noriko continued.

"I'm not sulking" he pouted.

"And now he's pouting."

Matt picked up one of the seat pillows from the chair next to his brother's and hit him with it. "You're doing both. Now, why don't you clarify all that nonsense you just spewed out?"

"Do you remember that maiden he was with at the ball?" Cody said as he walked in. "Apparently, the prince was disappointed by the fact that he couldn't see her alone anymore since he was being constantly monitored by knights so Noriko invited her over for dinner tonight."

"You should be happy about that" Matt sighed. "You get to see her again at the very least."

"But I just know that father and mother are going to do something to embarrass me" TK groaned.

Matt hit him with the pillow again. "Are you sure it's not because you're going to embarrass yourself?"

"Or perhaps you don't want to bring your parents' hopes up about marriage?" Cody brought up. "After all you told us that she wasn't sure about how she felt just yet."

"I don't need you to remind me" TK muttered. "And how long were you standing there anyway?"

"Long enough" Cody shrugged.

"I need to prepare for this dinner" TK finally sighed and got up. He hurriedly left and got into his room. "What am I going to do?"

-X-

Ken stared at the portraits of nobles from the past and started counting them off. "Hate, hate, double hate, loathe entirely!"

"What in the world are you doing?" his companion hissed.

"Taking a stroll through memory lane" Ken replied.

His companion grabbed his wrist and pulled him away from the painting shop. "You're going to make people curious about you and that's not a good thing."

"Relax, I used magic to hide who we are" Ken chuckled like it was no big deal. "Just remember, I'm Curt and you're Melody, no one will ever know who we really are! Besides, I wanted to come down to the village to see how everything had changed while I was sealed away."

He had curly brown hair with crystal blue eyes, his face was covered in freckles and the bridge of his nose was broken like he had gotten into a scuffle in a tavern the night before. He wore a long black cloak that covered anything he was wearing underneath. His companion had long blonde hair that fell down to her waist and she wore a tight fitting low cut blue dress that stopped at her mid-thigh. Her skin was close to a caramel color and her eyes were light brown.

"Stop talking so loud!" Melody hissed. "And why did you choose to turn me into this?"

"It's definitely not so I can admire your assets" Curt grinned.

"You disgust me" Melody scoffed. "Come on; let's just hurry through this so we can go back to the hideout."

"That place is so damp and muggy, why can't I just stay out here? I can just permanently keep myself disguised so that no one finds out who I really am" Curt suggested.

Melody looked around and when she saw that almost no villagers were looking their way, she slapped him across the face. "Wizards are able to sense other magical beings through their magical essence. You can easily get caught even if you're unrecognizable."

"As if that stupid storm mage could catch me" Curt scoffed. He marched away from his companions and paused when he saw a restaurant a couple of meters away from them. "I know, why don't we go get some food over there?"

"You're hungry? But you just ate a few moments ago."

"That was just a light snack."

"You cleaned out their entire kitchen; nothing about it was a 'light snack'."

"A freak gets hungry all the time" Ken said innocently as he dragged Melody into the restaurant.

The two of them were seated rather quickly in such a crowded restaurant and it wasn't long before their food was served. Melody just sat there and watched as 'Curt' devoured everything he and she had ordered. He had ordered one of everything, he convinced her to order the biggest thing on the menu. She was sure he was going to throw it all up once he was finished but he was actually done, he ordered one of everything again.

"Who the hell eats this much?!" she screamed.

"I do" he said with his mouth full.

"Whatever" she huffed. "And who is paying for all of this?"

"You are."

"I will not!"

Curt was just about to respond when he heard an intriguing conversation from a nearby table. It was a group of construction workers talking about how the high royal family had invited a young maiden from Princess Mimi's court to their castle for dinner. Curt glared at the girl sitting across from him.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Curt scowled.

"I can't understand you when you talk with your mouth full like that" Melody frowned.

Curt swallowed and renewed his glare. "Why did you tell me?"

"Tell you what?" she sighed.

"You're my ears in the kingdom and not only that but you're directly involved in this" Curt tried to clarify although Melody still raised an eyebrow to show her confusion. "Why didn't you tell me that the princes were having a special dinner tonight?"

"Why do you care so much?" she shot back. "And I order you not to interrupt their dinner."

"Why not?"

"You know why! You're services are not needed there."

Curt gritted his teeth and Melody's eyes widened when saw him appear to glitch and for a moment, she saw Ken. She took a look at her hand and noticed that was starting to flicker as well.

Ken/Curt shot up. "I'm sick of you ordering me around all the time! You're doing all of this for your own sick gain!"

Melody was going to say something but then she decided that words were clearly not enough to convince the dark warlock from keeping quiet so she raised her hand and he seemed to freeze. "I told you that you're services are not needed there and shut up and maintain our disguises."

"How are you…?" was all Ken could get out when he realized that his entire body was immobile. "It can't be…You're…"

Melody didn't allow him to say more as she released him. She grabbed his wrist and left the restaurant, away from the undesired attention they were getting, after paying for everything. They walked until they reached the outskirts of the village and Ken released their disguises and he just stared at his companion.

"You're a mage?" Ken stared.

His companion glared back at him. "I am…But I only recently learned how to do that."

"Manipulation magic" Ken muttered. "It's rare and incredibly difficult to perform but you were able to nail it." He smirked and started laughing once he really thought about it. "It suits you. Not only that but you got it down fast. Although I should've known…You've been keeping you're true identity a secret to me too."

The other person scoffed in an annoyed tone. "What are you talking about? You already knew who I was."

"I'm not talking about your name" Ken laughed. "I meant your ancestry. And here I thought your grounds for revenge were completely unfounded but now I get it. Fine, I'll stay out of tonight's dinner but in return, I get a victim of my choosing."

"And what does that mean?"

"Exactly what it sounds like." Ken took a few steps towards the village and stared at the people walking past. His eyes landed on the looming castle in the center and his smug grin only grew wider. "And I know exactly who it should be."

"You can't order me around" his companion retorted. "Remember, you are only bound to this plane level because of me."

"My contracts always have loopholes" Ken grinned.

Despite the fact that these two were allies, they seemed to have completely opposing agendas. The two of them just stared each other, waiting for the other say something, to slip up somewhere and give the other the upper hand. But it wasn't going to happen any time soon, they both knew that. So what were they waiting for?

"Who do you have on your hit list now?"

Ken turned back to the castle in the center of the kingdom. "His parents were two of the knights who hurt me over and over. They've spilt my blood more times than I can count. I'm not after revenge, like you are, but I do want some payback for my suffering. You can do that for me can't you?"


	9. Death for Dinner

**Davis: Tai, what are you doing with Zero's laptop? You know he hates it when anyone other than himself looks through his personal stuff.**

**Tai: I'm not. Zero fell asleep before he finished writing the next scene for Forbidden Tales so I'm just trying to finish it for him.**

**Kari: Are you sure you're not just trying to fit a romantic scene between you and Sora?**

**Tai: What?! No! How can my little sister even accuse me of that?**

**Yolei: But that's exactly what you're doing.**

**Tai: Sh-Shut up!**

**Matt: Move! You should let someone who's actually done some real writing handle this. Besides, I know exactly what Zero wants for this next scene.**

**Davis: Yeah right, you're just replacing Tai's name with your own. And by the way, I don't think "I run around, you run around!" counts as "real writing".**

**TK: I hate to say it but, he's right Matt. You've got to let me do this. After all, I'm the one who becomes a writer when we all grow up.**

**Matt: Based on our adventures, yeah, totally great writing there little brother. And I'm doing some real writing here! I've barely shown up in this fic in comparison to the rest of you! This face deserves some more screen time!**

**Zero Unit: And you all need less ****free**** time so get off my laptop! Besides, did it never occur to you guys that I had the outline for Forbidden Tales right here! Not to mention I would notice if something had changed about my script.**

**Tai: We were just trying to make some improvements. No need to get angry.**

**Zero Unit: Get out!**

**Takato: Zero Unit RGB does not own any of the characters from Digimon, he just loves to write about us. **

**Zero Unit: That means you too! You shouldn't even be here!**

-X-

"Our honored guests will be here at any minute" the king told the chefs as they were setting up the table. "Can one of you call my sons down here so they can be properly seated? I swear, the two of them will be the death of me."

As one of the chefs ran up to the bedchambers to fetch the princes, Queen Nancy walked over to her husband.

"You're just feeling a bit stressed this evening" Nancy said to him. She reached over and pulled his hand away from his face which had been rubbing the bridge of his nose as if he was really tired. "You have nothing to worry about. This evening will go perfectly fine."

"I hope so" Hiroaki sighed. "I just want my boys to grow up happy but I have this dreadful feeling in my heart that one of them may have to grow up to fast and take my place as king before they are ready. What if that happens?"

Nancy planted a kiss upon her beloved's cheek. "You're just being paranoid. Relax, if you're so apprehensive, our guests will be able to tell and then they'll be uncomfortable."

"Yes, you're right" Hiroaki nodded. "Thank you Nancy. You have always been there for me."

"And I will be until the end."

"Thank you" the king repeated.

-X-

"Your leg is shaking" Mimi said for about the fourth time that evening in the carriage.

Kari paused and looked down to notice that in fact, her leg was bouncing up and down for the fourth time that evening. Since Kari was sitting rather close to the princess, her jittery ligament left a vibrating and rather uncomfortable sensation on the princess. "Sorry, I guess I'm more nervous than I thought."

"That's okay" Mimi replied. "Although it makes me wonder…If you're feeling so nervous about the turn-out of this evening, could it be that you actually have feelings for the young prince?"

Kari wasn't quite sure how to respond. It's true that if she was this shaky then she must have feelings stronger than friendship for the royal but they had just met. Maybe she was just thinking that they could become something more but all she knew was that there was something compelling her to the blonde. It was almost as if she was under some sort of spell which kept her captivated but it felt to real to be something like that.

"I'm honestly not too sure myself" Kari said. It was all she could say and something she felt like she's been saying a lot lately.

Mimi nodded in understanding and very soon, the carriage came to a stop. The door opened and Tai let them step outside where they were met with an entourage of knights leading them into the castle of the high royal family.

"They've really increased security on this place" Mimi muttered despite knowing that it was simply to greet the guest of honor.

The princess exited the carriage with some help from her knight who also helped his sister out as well, although he had to coax her a little. Tai stood by his sister's side while the other knight, Kiriha, accompanied them from the princess's side. They walked into the castle and this time, they were greeted by a line of maids on one side and a line of butlers on the other. They basically made a path leading right into dining room.

"Good evening and welcome Lady Kari and friends" the servants greeted.

"Lady?!" Kari repeated, clearly not used to being addressed rather than the royal beside her. "I can't do this."

She turned around and tried to escape the castle but her brother stopped her. "Everything will be fine" Tai told her. "You're just being paranoid."

"He's right" Mimi nodded. "Now come on and relax. These servants don't show it, but I'm pretty sure they're trying not to laugh because you look pathetic right now. So put your hands, head, and legs, off the door and let's go."

"I can't now" Kari muttered. "I feel embarrassed."

Tai pried her off the door and herded his red-faced sister through the path with their other two companions following right behind them. Tai let go of Kari once they were through the doors though as it would only succeed in embarrassing the maiden more if she was practically carried into the room.

As soon as the doors to the dining room were opened, they were met face to face with the king and queen as well as another entourage of knights.

"It is an honor to welcome Princess Mimi to our humble abode" Hiroaki smiled as he shook the princess's hand. He then took Kari's hands and shook them as well. "And you must be the girl that my son has been infatuated by. You are certainly beautiful, no wonder he fell in love at first sight."

"Father!" TK shouted from somewhere inside. "You don't have to spout such nonsense!"

The king and queen separated so that their guests could see the inside and they were greeted with an air of elegance. The dining room was all lit up with glittering chandeliers and the table was adorned with only the rarest of delicacies. The princes were already at their seats, patiently waiting for their parents and their guests to join them.

"You really went all out with the décor" Mimi praised.

Mimi and Kari were both seated by knights, as were the king and queen. Tai and Kiriha were asked to wait outside but they were given to permission to roam the castle as long as they were accompanied by other knights. It gave them the feeling that they weren't really trusted but then again, the evil warlock is rather infamous for disguising himself so these precautious measures made sense at least.

As the girls were left alone, Kari's leg started pumping up and down again so when it struck the down the seventh time, Mimi stomped on it.

"Eep!" she yelped quietly.

"What was that?" TK asked.

Mimi tried to laugh it off as she lifted her foot off of her companion's. "Oh, nothing. That was just a nervous sounding jitter. She's not used to this kind of extravagant thing."

"That is perfectly understandable" Nancy smiled. "I remembered when the previous king and queen had invited me to a dinner. I felt so out of place there and was pretty embarrassed by my simplest of actions. But you should relax Kari, we're all friendly here and we mean you no harm."

"It might help if there weren't so many knights" Mimi pointed out. "Although I understand why they're here. Better to be safe than sorry."

Kari had turned a bright hue of red from head to toe as she struggled to look up at the prince but instead, she was solely focused on the hem of her dress. She kept pulling and tugging on it, like somehow, that was going to take her back home, away from this feeling of awkwardness. Although the princess, king, and queen seemed very comfortable.

"I really can't do this…" she mumbled.

From across the table, TK could see how uncomfortable the maiden was and how the conversation that was bouncing between his parents and the princess weren't helping so he reached over and took her hand in his. She looked up abruptly and blushed harder when she that he was gently holding her hand in his.

"Don't worry" TK whispered to her. "Everything will go just fine tonight. You don't have to be so on edge."

"It's not really easy when I'm not exactly familiar with my surroundings and your parents seem to be expecting something from me" Kari replied. "TK, I know you like me and I might have some feelings for you but even if I did, I don't think I can be a queen of this land or anything. If it turns out that I do like you; then is it possible that we can wait for your brother to be married before we do. I mean, he is the older one and by tradition, he should be the rightful heir to the throne."

"I'm not a big fan of traditions" TK chuckled. "But I'm also not a big fan of big responsibilities. But even if Matt becomes king after my father, I'll still have to help him out from time to time. As if I could ever leave him to such duties by himself."

"That is so noble of you."

It was a female voice who had replied but it didn't come from Kari. They turned their heads and noticed how everyone else who was seated at the table was just staring at them with bemused expressions. Both their cheeks became a bright red as they pulled their hands away from each other.

Cody, who stood nearby, chuckled. "It's so good to hear that the burden of the kingship will be shared between the two princes."

"Indeed" Nancy nodded in agreement.

"Don't mind us" Matt grinned. "Just continue your conversation as if we're not here."

TK sighed as he looked away from them. "You guys can be so annoying sometimes."

"That's what we're here for, little brother" Matt chuckled.

-X-

Tai didn't feel very comfortable leaving his sister alone in the dining room, although she wasn't really alone. He was also rather concerned about the wellbeing of the princess as well. Now he was starting to get worried about himself because he needed to go to the restroom and somehow lost his way. Now he was separated from his two guides provided to him by the king and queen and his fellow knight of Mimi's court.

"Where am I in this huge place anyway?" he muttered.

The castle was significantly larger than the one he lived at and surprisingly, the corridors were pretty much empty. So there was no one who could give him directions leading him back to the dining room.

Not for the first time that night he was wishing that the king and queen had placed maps on the walls or something. He was fairly certain that even the people living there get lost half the time.

"What am I supposed to do?" Tai sighed in a defeated tone.

Actually, it kind of reminded him of his first day on the job when he transferred from Yolei's castle to Mimi's. He wondered if there was a kingdom out there with an even bigger castle than this one and the very thought of it made him fear for the poor visitors. That was when he caught wind of some voices around the corner.

"Thank goodness" he muttered as he was about to call out to them.

Tai paused when he realized that they were two knights, judging by their bulky shadows flickering on the wall, talking to each other and their conversation was very intriguing considering it involved their master, his mistress, and his little sister. He stood there, at the corner, out of their line of vision as he eavesdropped on their conversation.

"I still can't believe that the girl the prince had fallen for isn't of royal descent" said the first knight. "She is absolutely gorgeous and would definitely make a perfect wife. She's probably too good for that snobby prince anyway."

Tai could see the shadow of the second knight nodding in agreement. "He doesn't even realize how good he has it. Always trying to help the common folk but when he's back in his bedchamber, all he does is complain about how he wished he was a commoner rather than a royal."

The first knight started laughing. "If that's true then I'll switch places with him right this instant! I'd give anything to be in his fancy shoes, sitting in that dining room with the beautiful princess and her pretty little friend."

"With that kind of power, we can just say the word and they'd both be coming back with us for a steamy evening in our bedchambers" the other one cackled.

Tai had try his very hardest not to pull his sword out of his sheathe and point it at the two knights. Their disgusting comments about his two female companions and their lack of respect for their own master were absolutely appalling to him but there wasn't anything he could do about it without getting his head chopped off at the guillotine.

He was trying to compose himself before turning the corner and asking for directions on how to get back to the dining room when he saw abrupt movements with the knights' shadows.

One of the knights suddenly fell to the floor, his head making a resounding thudding sound as his lifeless eyes stared back at Tai's. The knight took a step back as he heard the other one swear from around the corner.

"What the–?!" was all the second knight could get out before getting slaughtered himself.

Tai felt sick to his stomach as he heard the second body fall to the floor. His hand reached for the hilt of his sword and he calmed himself down as he hid himself into a crevice in the wall. He watched as the mysterious shadow started turning the corner, moving towards him.

"I know you're there" the shadow said. The voice was androgynous, too difficult to tell if it was a man or a woman but Tai was nearly certain he knew who it belonged to.

Tai jumped out from his hiding place and pointed his sword at the murderer only to drop his weapon to the ground in shock and surprise. "You–!"

The assailant grinned and in a second, the knight's blood was smeared along the walls of the dark corridors. The torches flickered as Tai's body slumped to the ground and the culprit walked away from the three immobile knights.

"Some guards you all were."

-X-

One of the knights of Hiroaki's court barged into the dining room despite all the guards trying to stop him from interrupting the meal. It was obvious that it was of an urgent matter but what could be so serious that he felt the need to go straight to the king and queen for?

"Two of our knights were found dead in the west wing corridors and another was severely wounded" the knight reported, grabbing all of their attention.

TK stood up immediately, it was clear that he wanted to go see for himself and Kari was immediately worried for the safety of her brother. But before the prince could make a move towards the door, Cody stopped him.

"Take the injured knight to then infirmary" Cody instructed four other knights on guard. He was the commander of Hiroaki's court so he had the authority to tell the knights what to do in a moment of panic despite being disabled from fighting. "Noriko, Taiki, Zenjirou, and I will investigate the dead bodies. Everyone is to stay absolutely calm about this and be sure to protect the royal family; we can't have this breach in security take anymore lives."

"Wait, what about the princess?" Kari asked. "She went to the bathroom earlier but hasn't come back yet."

"I'll go and get her" Matt said as he stood up.

"No, you're not" Cody immediately objected. "We'll just have some other knights go check on her."

At that moment, Hiroaki stood up and walked towards the door. "I'll go see her. Don't worry yourself over me Sir Cody, there are several knights from here to the bathrooms and I will be okay. Matt, you just stay and enjoy the rest of dinner."

"I'm going with you" Matt insisted.

Hiroaki figured there would be no arguing with his son so the two of them just went off despite the protests from the knights and the other two members of the royal family.

The two of them rushed through the corridors until they made it to the female restroom at the exact same time Mimi was stepping out of it. She was surprised to see them there as they were surprised to see that every single knight in the halls were gone.

"That's strange" Hiroaki mused. "I was pretty sure I asked for this hall to be heavily guarded."

Mimi blinked. "Well, I didn't see any knights here. Maybe they misheard your instructions or something. I know Davis and Tai had trouble like that before."

"Maybe" Matt nodded before remembering why they had come there in the first place. "Princess, we have to go back to the dining room right now. Someone has perpetrated the castle and killed two of our knights and injured another."

The princess's face became pale. "Do you think that it's Ken again?"

"It's possible" Hiroaki nodded. "If anything, he probably wants revenge on my since it was my parents who ordered that he be sealed all those years ago. And since my parents aren't here anymore, he's transferred those feelings of anger over towards me."

"But it wasn't your fault" Mimi said.

"I know but…" he trailed off as they heard footsteps coming closer to them.

"King Hiroaki, Prince Matt, what are you two doing here?" the person whose the footprints belonged to asked. It was a female voice and even though her face was in the shadows, her dress made it very obvious who it was. She gasped when she took another step forward.

Matt's eyes widened but he knew exactly what he needed to do, he was just a second too late. He swiveled around in time to see the princess grin maliciously as she pulled out a dagger from her sleeve. She grabbed the king by the back of his throat, pulled him back and stabbed him in the throat.

"Father!" Matt shouted as the king fell back, blood spilling to the floor.

The imposter laughed and as she did, her voice morphed back to the male, familiar cold one belonging to the dark warlock. His dress whipped around him as it changed into a blood red cloak. His hair became shorter and his eyes shimmered in the dim torchlight. "Long live the king!" he cackled as his body faded into the darkness.

Matt collapsed to the floor as he cradled his father's head in his lap. "No…" he shook his head, voice cracking. "This just can't be happening…"

Mimi was speechless as she fell to her knees.

Only seconds passed before knights started pouring in upon hearing the princess's horrified scream which even she wasn't aware of releasing. The knights of the king's court just stared at the lifeless body of their master and could do nothing but send their condolences to the prince.

It was quiet that night and as they stood there, it started raining outside. Even the heavens were grieving for the death of King Hiroaki.


	10. The Last Words

**Tai: Just give it to me straight doc, am I dead?**

**Joe: Well, in real life, I'm not an actual doctor yet, but if my diagnosis is correct, you're still alive.**

**Tai: How do you know that?**

**Joe: You're talking to me aren't you?**

**Tai: What if I'm a spirit speaking to you from another plane of existence?**

**Matt: Can you stay in that plane of existence? Because you are getting really annoying.**

**Tai: Well it's not my fault Zero decided to kill me off!**

**Zero Unit: Hey, someone was bound to die after Yolei and besides, you don't know if you're dead.**

**Yolei: Hey Zero, it's time to shoot the scene where Sora is mourning over Tai by a lake in the woods.**

**Zero Unit: Sh! Shut it!**

**Tai: How does she know what the next scene is?**

**Yolei: I wanted to do something other than stand there and wait for him to shoot scenes for ****Children of the Present**** and ****Fifty Fluffy Drabbles****! Speaking of which, thank you for allowing me the chance to kick someone in the gut in the latter one.**

**Zero Unit: Okay, that's enough! Everyone get into your positions, we've got a scene to shoot!**

**Ken: None of us characters are owned by this slave driver of a director and writer.**

**Zero Unit: Don't make me use your own whip against you!**

-X-

Sora stared into the lake, watching as her reflection cried. Every single tear dropped into the crystalline waters and distorted her face for a few second until the next one dropped. She wished that her reality could be distorted just a bit so that she could be sitting here with Tai, the knight who passed away late last night.

From behind the red-haired maiden, she heard the bushes rustling and someone approach her.

"You know it's dangerous to be here alone with an evil warlock running around."

She recognized the voice and was surprised that he of all people had found her sobbing alone in the woods. She was expecting the person to be Kari or perhaps even the princess but instead, she looked up into the blue eyes of the prince.

"I could say the same about you" Sora replied. "I thought..." She almost mentioned the king. "I thought you weren't allowed to leave the castle without having a squadron of knights accompany you. You're a prime target for Ken."

"I just needed to get away" Matt said in response. "Also…I come here when I need a release. I don't usually let anyone see me cry but I suppose I can make an exception since you're apparently here to let your emotions go too." That's when the seamstress noticed how red his eyes were.

"How did you leave the castle undetected?" Sora asked, trying to change the subject as she wiped her eyes on her sleeve.

"There's a secret entrance that no one knows about underneath the castle, below the dungeons" Matt said, not quite sure why he felt so compelled to tell her this. It was probably because he didn't have his head screwed on at the moment or he just needed to talk to someone. "There's a secret bedchamber there and supposedly, one of my ancestors used that room to meet up with lovers. I honestly wouldn't put it past my great grandfather to be the culprit."

"How do you know about this place?" asked Sora. "I thought only the princess and her family, well, me included, knew about this lake."

"Our parents set up play dates together and one day, Mimi took me to this magical place" Matt told her. "Even when we stopped visiting each other, I never forgot about this place. I always loved the smell of grass and fresh water as well as the sounds of nature. Best of all is when the night falls and the fairies come out to play."

Sora smiled, that all sounded so pleasant and peaceful which was definitely what she needed right now. "I've never seen the fairies before but then again, I've never visited this place at night either. But I've heard stories about them. Is it true that their wings glitter when light catches on them."

"They sparkle more than all the stars in the night sky" Matt chuckled. "Perhaps I can show you them one day."

"I would really like that" Sora nodded. "But I wish…"

"You wish…?"

Sora shook her head, feeling like she was going to burst out crying again. "I don't really want to talk about it."

"You say that but what you want more than anything is to talk about it" Matt said. "It has to do with that knight, Tai, right?"

There was a long pause but then, the maiden nodded. "I wish he would still be around so he could see the fairies too."

"Do you love Tai?"

Another long pause. "You know, they say that you don't realize what you have until it's gone. Tai wasn't dead when he was brought back to the castle and we talked for the last few hours he was on this earth. He talked about how we met, how he fell in love with me, how all he wanted was for me to be happy, and more than anything, how he wished he could've lived a little bit longer. I miss him so much and despite this feeling of a battlefield inside my head, I think I had a moment of clarity when he took his final breath. I love him, I love Tai and I wish he was still here with me."

Matt stared as the girl started to cry again. The prince could never stand seeing anyone cry, whether it was his little brother, his mother, or even this stranger. He was just compelled to try and make her feel better.

"Have you ever heard of the legends of how fairies guide the dead to their rightful spots among the heavens?" Matt asked her.

Sora gave an uncertain nod. "It sounds familiar, that's for sure. Could you explain it a little more in detail?"

"They say that fairies don't just guide lost travelers out of forests or grant wishes to those who believe strongly enough" Matt started as he watched his reflection. "Fairies are a light that guide spirits to the stars. So, I'm sure that Tai has already seen a fairy and is now above us, watching over everything, including you."

A long silence passed between them as Sora smiled, thinking that Tai would always be an angel protecting her. "I hope so."

"That's right" Matt blinked. "I know this may sound a bit cruel after my speech but I was wondering…Did Tai mention who the culprit was?"

Sora nodded. "He said that it was the princess. But I heard about how the dark warlock had disguised himself as Mimi-sama last night so it was probably him who did it. Obviously the princess is innocent but I wasn't given the chance to clear it up with Tai before he passed away. Now his last thought will be the fact that his own mistress is some evil traitor who slaughtered him and those other two knights! I can't believe that Ken could stoop so low as to do something like that!"

"Neither can I…" Matt muttered. "How is his sister dealing with this situation?"

"Kari? She's doing okay…To an extent" Sora said. "She's trying to be a strong warrior but putting on this brave face and acting as if this is just a part of natural life. But I know she's hurting and I should really go talk to her. She must be taking it harder than anyone else."

"I can imagine" Matt nodded.

"What about you? Do you need to vent about your dad?" Sora asked. She had thought this was dangerous ground to tread on at first but it seemed to have helped her to talk about it so maybe it would help the prince as well if he wasn't already feeling better.

"…I think I'm generally okay" he replied. "But now that my dad is gone, I'm starting to realize how everything he did really was for me and TK and it makes me wish he did more things for himself. Although, I think my mother is taking it even worse than the rest of us, she hasn't left her bedchamber at all. I have to remember to speak to her later."

A whole hour passed with the two of them just talking about random things, trying to get their mind off of recent events. It felt just like the evening of the ball when they were first getting to know each other and they just spoke about things as if nothing really mattered in life. It was comfortable for both of them and there was never an awkward moment.

Matt glanced over in the general direction of where his castle was before getting up. "I should probably get going. The knights, maids, butlers, and especially my family, must be freaking out right now over my disappearance."

"Okay" Sora nodded. "Oh, but before you go! I just want to say…Thank you for talking to me."

Matt chuckled and smiled, thinking about the first thing she had said to him when he had arrived at this lake when he had wanted to be alone. "I could say the same about you."

-X-

Davis couldn't really focus and the heat from the kitchen was only making these worse. "I need to go outside for some fresh air" he said to the head chef. "I'm…I think I'm going to head down to the village and pick up some ingredients for tonight's dinner."

"All right, take your time and bring a couple of other people to help you carry everything" Yuu told him.

The former knight stepped out of the kitchen with his crutches and started on his way towards the village after recruiting a small group of servants to go with him. After all, there was no way he would be able to carry everything when both of his hands were occupied. Although going shopping wasn't really going to get his mind off of recent events if it was only going to remind him that their number one supplier was dead.

"Michael was the first victim" Davis muttered absentmindedly. "And Tai is one of the most recent. When is this nightmare going to end?" Kari was right, there was close to no chance of reality being better than one's fantasy at this point.

He broke away from the rest of his group so that he could so some window shopping, but also to be alone with his thoughts for a few moments. A bad idea considering his mind was filled with negative feelings and images of Tai lying in that bed while the thread keeping him bound to life frayed.

"Davis, what are you doing here?"

Davis paused as he looked over to the beautiful maiden who had called out to him. Her usually shining locks of brown hair were lackluster and her pale skin was plagued with dark circles underneath her eyes mixed with red. It was more than obvious that she had spent the night crying over her brother.

"I was just going to get some stuff for dinner" the cook replied. "What are you doing here?"

"I needed some time alone with my thoughts" Kari replied after a long pause. "So I decided to come down here. I figured it would be easier but it only served to remind me of when it all started."

Davis nodded silently. "I know what you mean. But then I remember the fact that the princess must be taking it hardest out of any of us. She already blamed herself for the first few victims; she's bound to blame herself for what happened this time around too."

"She is" Kari sighed. "She's been mumbling to herself, saying things like if she hadn't chosen to bring Tai alone then he wouldn't be dead. But then it might've been someone else in his place and it makes me think that my brother wouldn't have wanted that. Would he?"

"No, he wouldn't. It's only those of the living who say they would take his place but in response, he would only say that we should keep going in his stead" Davis said dejectedly.

"I just wish I could've done something."

"I'm pretty sure we all do but there is nothing that can be done now."

"I know…"

The two of them found a place to sit by a lazy street so that Davis wouldn't have to stand for so long. They bought some light snacks from a street vendor and tried to relax. They sat in silence for a long time until Davis decided to speak up.

"Do you have any idea how efficient an artificial leg would be as opposed to a real one?" asked Davis. He was met by a very confused expression from his companion. "What I mean is, Mimi's already placed an order to try and get me one but I'm just wondering if I will be as capable as I was before. Would I still be able to perform my former knightly duties or will be stuck in the kitchen for the rest of my natural life? Not that I don't enjoy cooking for everyone, I just prefer using a sword to a ladel."

"Well I wouldn't know" Kari giggled. "I would assume that you would be able to but you would have to get used to the weight and maneuvering with it before going back to your knightly duties."

"Yeah, you're probably right about that."

"Thank you Davis."

Davis blinked as he took a sip of his tea. "What for?"

"For always making me feel better when I need it" she replied. "And today, I really needed it more than ever."

Davis nodded as her head fell onto his shoulder; her exhaustion seemed to be finally catching up to her. "Kari, you know that I'll always be there for you. When my parents and older sister died in that blaze several years ago, you and your brother made sure to keep me safe. I can never repay that debt to you."

There was no response so Davis glanced over to the maiden to notice that she had fallen asleep. He didn't mind, he just wished he knew how she felt about the prince. If she had fallen for the young royal, then this action of hers would only succeed in breaking his heart further in the future. But there was no way he was ever going to leave her.

"I made a promise to Tai" he whispered. "Tai told me that if anything happened to him, then I was to keep you safe no matter what happens. And I intend to keep that promise even if it costs me another leg. I love you, Kari Kamiya."

Davis kissed her gently on top of her head, leaving her with a serene smile as she slept. After that, Davis was truly left alone with his thoughts and the first one that came to mind was a rather worrying one as he couldn't help voicing it out.

"How am I going to get home?"

-X-

When Izzy had heard that one of the victims in last night's attack was still breathing, he had rushed all the way to the Tachikawa castle only to find that the knight had died only mere seconds before his arrival. He had asked the seamstress who left his deathbed if he had mentioned who the culprit was and what he received had stunned him for a moment until he heard the full story from the princess.

"You said that a person disguised as you killed those knights and the king last night?" the wizard asked.

Mimi nodded as she took a sip from her drink. The two of them sat alone in the common room for privacy. "I know it was Ken though. I just can't believe that one of my own knight's last thoughts before departing is of me trying to murder him!"

Izzy rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I doubt it would be Ken though…"

Mimi's eyes widened at the unintentional accusation. "Are you saying I killed my own knight?"

"No!" Izzy quickly shook his head. "It's just; Ken doesn't know the castles as well as others do so he would most likely get lost. Chances are, he was hiding somewhere the entire time while an accomplice helped cause a panic. You leaving to the washroom gave him the perfect chance to hide away and for the king to leave in search of you."

"So it is my fault all of this happened!" Mimi suddenly wailed.

"N-No, I'm not saying that at all!" Izzy said. He was never that good with words and he wasn't exactly tactful either. "You were just at the wrong place at the wrong time and chances are, Ken took advantage of that. No one is to blame but him and whoever he's working with."

"Do you have any suspects?"

"Just one" Izzy told her. That was a lie, there were two people he suspected but he knew that he couldn't tell the princess who else could be responsible for certain reasons. "The wound in Tai was punctured with a weapon laced in magical signature. I recognize the signature too…"

"Well, who is it?" Mimi asked.

"Joe Kido."

Mimi gasped as she let this settle in. "The village doctor? But he was here just moments ago to check on Tai and then he said he would go back to his office! He was here…A murderer was here?!" She was starting to hyperventilate so Izzy calmed her down by pulling her into a warm embrace.

"I'll go and take care of him right now" Izzy promised her. As soon as he let go, he noticed a shadow sip by outside the window. He swore under his breath and ran over to the window, noticing a cloaked figure running towards the village. "Princess, I need you to stay inside. It would appear that our suspect has already figured out we're on his tail."

"Be careful!" she shouted as he leapt out of the opening in the wall.

Izzy pursued the cloaked man through the crowded streets of the village, changing his form into golden lightning and zipping past them. If it had been exposed to the public that their king was dead then they'd all be in a mass panic so at least there wasn't as much traffic as there would've been. Izzy mentally shamed himself for being grateful for that before finally making it to the office of the treacherous doctor.

He kicked open the door and froze. Nothing was there; all traces of anyone even living there were all gone. It was almost as if Joe had never existed in the first place.

"He escaped" Izzy growled. "I'm going to find you Joe and I plan on ending you once and for all!"


	11. Jim's Past, Joe's Future

**Sora: Is he okay? He's been like that for the past few days.**

**Yolei: We can't shoot the next few scenes without a director!**

**Zero Unit: I'll be with you guys in a minute. I'm just not feeling well after killing off Tai. He was originally going to live until the end. **

**Tai: Then you should've kept it that way!**

**Matt: If you're so depressed about this, how come you updated Children of the Present and started that new story, Fifty Fluffy Drabbles? Isn't it hard enough for us to move around two sets and now you're having us walk around three?**

**Mimi: Yeah, why did you have to start a new story?**

**Zero Unit: You guys are barely in it! Mimi, you've played major roles so far but the rest of you have done nothing! Now get back to work!**

**TK: We still don't have the scripts.**

**Zero Unit: We will get back to work after I finish writing the scripts! For now, you guys can just get ready for the scene I'm about to shoot for Children of the Present. You guys are very important characters for them.**

**Davis: But Cody, Yolei, and I aren't in those scenes.**

**Zero Unit: Don't question me!**

**Marcus: We apologize for our director's shameless advertising for his other two stories. Everyone here at Zero Unit Productions would hope that you guys enjoy this chapter and don't forget to review. None of the characters actually belong to Zero Unit Productions though.**

**Zero Unit: Why are you even on this set?**

-X-

Izzy slammed his fist against the wall, sending electricity running through it in his anger causing it to explode into several concrete bits. Several people who were passing by paused and stared at the wreckage in shock. The wizard knew he had to get his emotions under control lest he go berserk but he just couldn't help feeling like he lost an important battle just now.

"That damned doctor" Izzy growled. "I should've killed him when I had the chance! Of course he was the one who was the cause of all this!"

"Izzy?"

The wizard turned and saw Davis hobbling towards him with Kari trying to support him while speed-walking. He glanced back at the mess he made and wished he hadn't because he knew he was going to have to take time out of his busy schedule to clean it up.

Kari took a moment to stare at the wreckage before directing herself at the redhead. "What happened here?"

"I lost my temper" Izzy replied vaguely.

"But why did you take it out on the doctor's wall?" Davis asked.

Izzy paused, he knew they deserved to know the truth; after all, the two of them were very close to a victim of the monster. "Joe is the one responsible for Tai's death." Izzy took note of how their eyes widened but he continued. "He overheard Princess Mimi and I talking about him and…He was one step ahead of us. He cleared out of his place and now he's gone. I can't track him either; even his magic signature has literally vanished into thin air. No doubt Ken had something to do with that."

"I can't believe this…" Kari breathed.

"Joe…We trusted him with our lives!" Davis snapped. "And he turns around and does this! Why?"

Izzy looked between them and realized that they really didn't know. "The first time Ken was on a rampage, he had an employer. Or rather, he had someone who traded his soul for Ken's servitude. This person happened to be Joe's older brother, Jim. You two weren't born when it happened but you must've heard some rumors."

Kari nodded. "Yeah, but I never paid much attention to them…"

"Me neither" Davis nodded. "But what was Jim's motive?"

"The same as most rogue wizards" Izzy sighed. "One day, he gained magical powers where he could control water in all of its forms. He thought it was amazing so he showed it off to his friends. Then, one day, he hurt one of them real bad and the others started treating him like a monster. Not just them, but parents as well. They were terrified of him and some went as far as throwing stones at him whenever he was seen using his powers again. Jim hated the feeling of being rejected simply for one accident so he vowed to take his revenge one day."

"That's horrible…" said Kari. "If the village people hadn't been so mean then he wouldn't have ended up exactly as they had seen him, a monster."

"Exactly" Izzy nodded. "Joe was close to his brother and he had the same powers. However, he wanted to prove that he was different so he only studied medicinal uses for his magic. That's how he gained all of our trust."

Davis was silent for a while, but then he stepped into the doctor's former home. "I say we look for clues, anything that could tell us where he is now. I want to feel sorry for him, I really do, but what he did to Tai is unforgivable. He needs to be stopped before the number of victims increase further."

"Wait!" Kari quickly said. "If we just find Joe and kill him, then we won't be any better than Ken or even Jim. Don't you think we should try to reason with him first? I mean, he must have a soul we can reach if he was willing to spend so much time healing our wounded."

"We don't really have any doctors as good as him" Izzy sighed in defeat. "I don't like it but I suppose if I find him, I can try to talk to him before anything else. But I'm still going to zap him at least once just to satisfy my anger."

"I agree with you on that" Davis nodded. "Can I also hit him with my crutch?"

Kari rolled her eyes but she supposed there would be no use in trying to stop them. "I guess but try not to make him feel rejected."

"We'll try" both males muttered unenthusiastically.

"Oh, that's right" Izzy blinked as he looked over to Davis. "After we're done looking for clues, you need to head on over to the blacksmith. I worked together with him to quickly manufacture a metal leg for you to use. With a little bit of my magic, you should be mobile in no time but it's heavy so you're going to have some trouble for a while."

Davis felt like he was drifting off into some sort of dream, he never imagined that he would be able to have two legs again even if one of them was artificial. "Then let's get started on looking for clues, I don't want to waste any time."

"Davis…" Kari said as she followed him inside. "Are you going to continue being a chef when you get your new leg or are you going to return to being a knight?"

Davis looked over to the wizard as if asking for his opinion and Izzy felt strangely compelled to give him it. "Well, it'll take time but when you get used to the weight and how it feels, you should be able to move as you normally have. So I suppose it wouldn't be a problem for you to return to your days of knighthood although you probably won't be as good as you used to be without several months of practice. Perhaps you could alternate between the two jobs."

"That sounds like a great idea" Davis smiled. "I'll put my main focus in the kitchen and one I get used to my new leg, I'll go back to my sword. Hopefully I won't be too rusty and hopefully, there will still be a piece of that warlock left for me to cut open."

"Don't say things like that!" Kari chided.

"Sorry…I guess I'm losing my temper too…"

-X-

Joe was panting when he finally reached their hidden base outside of the village but he calmed down quickly when he noticed how the warlock was staring at him with a bemused expression. "You laced that dagger with my magic signature?" It was more of a statement rather than a question.

"I was asked to" Ken replied with a grin. "We have to keep our true benefactor's identity a secret."

"That explains why I was asked to clear all my things and bring them here" Joe grumbled irately. "I would really appreciate it if you guys would fill me in beforehand though. It's a good thing I was able to mask my magic signature so he couldn't follow me all the way here."

"Oh? Were you chased by that redheaded wizard?"

"Who do you think?"

Ken was more than amused by Joe's reactions so this was rather pleasurable to see the usually calm doctor in such a distressed state. Somewhere in the universe, there's a version of this doctor who probably panics more than the average person.

"So how has the town reacted now that their monarch has been killed?" Ken asked, deciding to change the subject.

"Same as it's always been" Joe replied as he took a sip from his canteen of water. "They don't know that their king has been murdered just yet. The queen asked that it would be kept secret for now but the entire town should be made well-aware of it come dawn tomorrow."

Ken clapped his hands together with a laugh. "That's perfect! I want to be there to watch them panic! When they realize that the most protected person in their entire kingdom has been slain, they'll see that absolutely no one is safe."

"But our intention isn't to strike fear into the hearts of the villagers" Joe reminded him. "Don't lose sight of the task we were given now."

"I won't. It's just fun to think about."

"You're really sick, you know that?"

"As all freaks are."

Joe scoffed and entered the room which now belonged to him for the time being. It was going to be tough to adjust to living in this dump with an annoying warlock as your neighbor but as soon as all of this was over, he'd leave and never look back. He glanced over at the bookshelf in his room and noticed one book out of place from the others. Joe slid it out and showed it to Ken.

"This book doesn't belong to me" Joe said plainly. "Where did it come from?"

"Izzy's personal library" Ken grinned.

Joe almost dropped it. "You snuck into his library?! He could've caught you or at least found your magic signature. Then he could easily follow it back here and we're all screwed!" He was about to go ballistic and pull out all of his hair if Ken hadn't stopped him.

"Whoa, I didn't steal it from his library" Ken laughed. "Our employer did, a dodgy one I'll tell you that. That wizard has absolutely no idea who he's really dealing with."

Joe ignored everything else the warlock had to say as he started flipping through the book; it appeared to have a massive amount of spells that were used on a more spiritual side of magic rather than elemental. Though there were certain spells that needed a certain element in order to work and the ones that concerned water interested the doctor.

He walked towards the lake with the book in his arms and paused when he reached it. Joe kneeled down beside the water's surface and watched his reflection stare back at him. He began to chant the ancient words needed to cast this particular spell and he watched as the water rippled and shifted.

Joe covered his mouth to cover up a squeaking sound from coming out when he saw his older brother staring up at him. "Jim! I can't believe that actually worked!" He out the book down next to him and gently touched the water, causing the image of Jim to warp slightly. "I can finally talk to you again after so many years! Jim, I…I've missed you so much…"

"Joe…My little brother…" Jim replied with a soft smile. "I dragged into this nightmare…I'm sorry…"

The doctor shook his head, not quite understanding why his brother was speaking so negatively. "What are you talking about? With this spell, I can transcend the barrier between life and death and talk to you like we used to."

Jim shook his head, tears streaming down his face as he tried to reach upwards and hold his younger brother's hand but to no avail. He was trapped as a mere image upon the surface of the lake. "Joe, I made a mistake. I should have never let my rage get the better of me and now it's gotten to you to. If I had chosen to do what you did, study healing magic and try to bring about a new reputation for myself, you wouldn't be in this position."

"I'm not being tortured or anything" Joe argued. He was getting more frustrated and confused the longer he spoke with the image. Jim usually cleared his thoughts when they got cluttered but he was now doing the opposite. "You're not making any sense!"

"Joe…" Jim sobbed. "Your fate is sealed and as a spirit…I know what that fate is. You can find out too but promise me that when you join me on this side, you can forgive me. I don't expect you to but…"

"What are you talking about?! I don't know what it is you think you're responsible for but I swear to you that I will always forgive you no matter what."

Jim just stared back at him, crying his heart out and apologizing over and over. Suddenly, he looked up as if someone had called him. "I have to go now Joe. I hope we can talk again but please don't use this spell too much. It drains more than anything else."

Joe nodded as the water shifted and he saw his own reflection staring back at him again. Not for the first time in the last few minutes, he was wondering what Jim had been blabbering about. The wind blew from the east, flipping the pages of the book next to him until it landed on a certain page.

"Learn your fate…" Joe read off the text. He was frightened to learn what this fate would be but he was too curious, especially after talking to his brother. He began reading off the incantations and as he did, the sky became darker and the water warped like it was animal caught in a trap and suffering. Suddenly, the lake had become eerily still and a cold chill ran down his spine. He heard Ken shouting for him back at their hidden base.

"Yo, Joe, what are you doing up there?" Ken called.

"Shut up!" Joe shouted back without even thinking about it. He was just too focused on what he was staring at on the water's surface. He saw his body leaning back against the wall, his eyes were open but there was no longer any light in them. His body was still and blood pooled around him, almost in a perfect circle. But the most frightening part of this scene was the gaping hole in his torso; it seemed to have been shot straight through by a large cannonball.

Joe started shaking his head desperately. "This…This can't be fate…"

Suddenly, on the surface of the water, the body rose from where he laid despite the fact that it was very obvious he was dead. He picked up a large, jagged blade and he slowly tilted his head upwards, looking straight into Joe's eyes. But they didn't reflect that same light. Rather, they were wide open, pupils dilated into slits and worst of all; his mouth was curled into that of twisted smile. The Joe in the image started laughing maniacally but it wasn't his voice, he didn't know who it belonged to, he just knew it wasn't his.

"No! Stop this! Why is this happening?!" Joe shouted to no one in particular. He started hitting the lake's surface as if hoping that would change the scene into something positive, something not so sinister and vile.

But the image of Joe only proceeded to laugh with that insane glint in his eyes. His glasses were shattered and a shard was sticking out of his cheek but he didn't care. All he cared about was cutting someone up with his knife. He began cutting and tearing open something, Joe couldn't see what but it made him sick to see skin and blood flying everywhere.

Ken voice called out to the doctor again. "Joe! What the hell is going on? Who is laughing like that?"

But Joe was no longer listening to anything but the maniacal laughter. His hands clenched onto his head, trying to cover up the sound of this chaotic sound that was tearing away at his eardrums. But it was no use. He ended up screaming in agony to show his pain and those screams were mixed with the sounds of cruel laughter.

Joe felt something moist rolling down his cheeks and he knew he was crying. He understood what his brother was trying to tell him but he just wish he understood why. He just knew that his fate had been sealed and there was no turning back from it now. "This is my fate…"


	12. A Pure World

**Izzy: Maybe I'm wrong but I think our director is stressing out.**

**Mimi: You can't really blame him. He has to apply to colleges and retake the SAT and he has no idea how to do the former. **

**Sora: Shouldn't we be giving him moral support or something?**

**Davis: You seem to forget that he created this story in order to torture us.**

**Kari: But his other stories are made to keep us happy in some way.**

**Tai: And this one isn't all bad. You know, aside from the part where I DIE!**

**Zero Unit: All of you shut up! I'm having an inner conflict with myself right now and I don't need you guys making it worse! Just please go out on set and get into your first positions. After that, you guys have to move to the Children of the Present set for the next act. We only wrapped up a third of it. Move it people before I get my air horn!**

**Yolei: And he's back to being director slave driver whom we all know and love.**

**Zero Unit: Go! And I'll handle the disclaimer this time. I own nothing except what is clearly mine.**

-X-

"You're stressing again" Mimi sighed as she watched the prince pace around the room. "Why don't you just sit down and finish your cup of tea before panicking over your coronation. It's not like its tomorrow or at the end of the week. Besides, you knew it would happen sooner or later."

Matt paused. After the death of his father, Mimi had come to the royal palace a lot more often than usual to check on how the princes and the queen were doing during such a time. It made sense since Mimi's grandmother was a trusted family friend and she was always there for moral support. And this was the time when Matt needed moral support more than ever because he was freaking out about his coronation a month away. But he was also wishing his father was still around, not so he wouldn't have to take the crown but so that he could have those last few regal lessons before the big day would arrive. But it would seem he would have to take the throne with the limited amount of knowledge he had of being a ruler.

"I know you're right" Matt nodded. "I was just hoping it would be later."

"You have your little brother to cut your duties at least to two-thirds so it can't be all bad" the princess reminded him.

"Yeah, TK did promise to help me out once I took the throne" Matt huffed.

The prince finally decided to sit back down across from his royal visitor and took a sip from the tea. This was where they would resume their chess game. Though neither of them seemed like the type to play such a game, it certainly calmed them down after recent events.

"We used to play like this a lit when we were kids" Mimi smiled. She really missed the old days, when King Hiroaki was alive (Even if that wasn't too long ago) and when there was no evil warlock to worry about.

Matt gave her a solemn nod. "Yeah, we did."

"Whatever happened to us?"

"What do you mean?"

"We used to be such good friends" Mimi explained as she moved her bishop. "We would play together and I would show you to that secret grove near my castle. Those little childish escapades were over in a blink of an eye and I sometimes wonder if we can ever go back to such a time. Back when we were still naïve to the world's negativity and crises."

Matt scoffed. He knew exactly what the maiden was speaking of and he dearly wished for them to return to that time as well but that seemed to be what was on everyone's mind lately. They all wished to turn back the hands of time and go back to being a senseless child but what would that change? There will still be poverty; natural disasters, and heartbreaks, people would just be unaware of such a thing. If everyone had returned to the mindset of a youngling, then they would never see the ones who suffer at the hand of fate.

"We have to grow up Mimi" Matt told her. "If we don't grow out of that immature state of mind, then who will change the world for the better? It will always be diseased but we can at least make it better. And we can't do that if we don't know what the problems are in the first place. Heck, we wouldn't even know there would be problems to begin with!"

"I guess I never thought about it like that…" Mimi said. "But what if things were different?"

Matt raised an eyebrow at the notion, not quite understanding her. "What do you mean?"

"Well, what if the world was exactly how our naïve minds believed it to be?" Mimi explained. "If the entire world was as pure as it had seemed when we were kids then wouldn't that fix the original problem?"

"That's just wishful thinking" Matt said in response. He hadn't meant it to come off as that harsh but it did. "We can't change the world just like that. I obviously wish that we could but it's just not possible."

"I know" Mimi sighed. "You really don't need to tell me that though."

Matt nodded. "Yeah, I know. And I'm really sorry for putting you down like that."

"No" Mimi shook her head. "I understand what you're saying and it really doesn't bother me. I mean, you're right, it's just wishful thinking. Don't take it seriously."

"Yeah, I know I shouldn't have" Matt nodded. "I was being pretty stupid."

Mimi put a hand on Matt's shoulder as she tried not to laugh. "No, you weren't. But right now, you are kind of being silly."

"Sorry."

"Hey, no need to apologize."

"Yeah, I guess I'm still being silly."

"You are" Mimi nodded. It was at that point that the princess remembered something she was supposed to tell him. She wasn't quite sure how to break it to him without having him freak out over it but she knew that he deserved to know. "Matt, I just remembered something really important."

Her tone didn't sit well in the prince's ears. "What is it?"

"Izzy found out that there was a second intruder during the dinner that evening of the incident" Mimi confessed. She was staring at the chess board but she wasn't contemplating her next move, she was just afraid to see the expression on Matt's face. Her imagination was enough though, she knew that his eyes had grown wide and he was waiting for her to give him the full story.

"What do you mean there was a second intruder?" Matt asked. He knew that if his father hadn't gotten up to see if Mimi was okay, then his father would still be alive. But what had prompted the king to go check on the princess was the fact that someone had perpetrated the castle. It was a known fact that Ken was unable to perform a cloning and duplication spell so that meant that he had an accomplice. It was because of that one distraction that the king and one of Mimi's most trusted knights were dead. "Who was it?"

"Joe" Mimi blurted out. "He was the one responsible for killing my knight and because of him, Ken got his hands on your father's life."

"Joe?" Matt repeated, stunned. Out of every person he knew, the doctor was probably on the bottom on that list to be classified as a traitor. "I can't believe it."

"Well, it's true, it couldn't be more evident now" Mimi sighed.

Matt was listening anymore, he could only concentrate on the fact that the person who had once saved his brother's life had indirectly taken his father's.

_"TK, what do you think you're doing?!" Matt shouted as he watched his little brother drift out to see in his boat. He was more than tempted to leap into the cold water to drag his sibling back by the ear._

_"I'm going to prove to you that I don't need you watching over me all the time!" TK called back._

_"Are you crazy?" the prince shrieked. "The demon fish Leviathan is still out there!"_

_TK stopped shouting though Matt knew exactly what the younger male was thinking. Matt was always telling TK to be careful or trying to keep the young lad away from all sorts of danger since both of their parents were busy with royal duties. The chambermaids and knights could babysit TK all the time so Matt took it upon himself to take care of TK._

_Ever since sightings of the demon fish Leviathan occurred by their shore, TK had wanted to see it. Matt had prohibited TK from going anywhere near the beach and they would stay several feet away but TK was still a child, he didn't understand how dangerous it was. So TK stole a rowboat and was now far away from the safety of the village._

_Matt bit his lower lip at the thought of the giant shark creature biting down on his little brother. "I have to find Izzy" Matt concluded as he ran off. The wizard was probably the only person who could save TK from being eaten whole._

_When the prince had come back with the mage, he just stood at the shore as he watched a massive beast retreat back into the deep. TK was coughing up water and there was a scar on his chest that cut down from his shoulder to the lower corner of his waist, a rather deep and ugly wound. By the young prince's side was a young teenage boy with his spectacles by his side. He was treating TK's wounds and judging by the soaked clothing and wet hair, he had jumped into sea and saved the prince's life._

_"Joe?" Izzy gasped. "Your arm!"_

_Joe glared at the wizard for pointing out the obvious but that didn't stop him from continuing to fix the gash on TK's chest. "I'll deal with it later. Right now, I have to make sure this kid doesn't die."_

_That's when Matt took a closer look at the doctor and noticed that his left arm was torn clean off. "You saved my brother at the cost of your own arm? Why would you do something so reckless for another person's life?"_

_Joe paused as he glanced at his arm and then back to the prince, his stone cold expression never leaving his face. "Because my father was a doctor and so am I. Both of us knew that at any rate, the patient's life is worth more than our own. I've held on to those principles and even though your brother wasn't my patient before, he is now."_

_"Thank you" Matt breathed, he felt like he was about to cry._

_"Don't thank me yet" Joe replied. "Your brother is in a critical state between life and death just from that monster's tooth grazing him. If it had closed its mouth down then he would be dead."_

_Izzy's body was starting to disappear but it was obvious that he was just transporting to another location. "I'll get your medical supplies; just try to keep the prince alive until then."_

_Once the wizard was gone, the doctor scoffed. "The prince, huh? I thought you two looked familiar."_

_"You didn't know?" Matt asked as he sat by TK's side, holding onto his little brother's hand._

_Joe shook his head. "I couldn't really tell from the shore, I just knew I had to save him. Besides, whether he was a royal or just a villager, I would've saved him anyway. I became a doctor to correct the wrongdoings of my own brother, but I remained a doctor to save lives."_

_"The village is really lucky to have you."_

_"I'm glad you think so."_

"Matt?" Mimi called out, snapping the prince back to the present. "What are you thinking about?"

There was a long pause. "…About a world where the naïve mindsets of children were true, that the world was pure and all things negative didn't exist like we were talking about before. I was just thinking that if such a world were to exist then the people would have to be modeled after someone who was truly kind and pure. Joe would've been that person but now I realize how that would be a big mistake."

-X-

Joe's eyes fluttered open and he simply stared at the ceiling of his room. He silently laid there as he thought about random subjects. He sat up and stared at his arm for a while, turning it this way and that, flexing his fingers and his arm until he seemed satisfied with what he saw and felt.

"Can't even tell it's fake" he muttered.


	13. Changing The Ending

**Joe: So I have a fake arm?**

**Davis: Well I'm going to have a fake leg!**

**Yolei: Oh, boo hoo, missing ligaments, I'm DEAD!**

**Tai: Yeah, that makes two of us!**

**Sora: Stop complaining you guys. I think our director is stressed enough as it is.**

**Zero Unit: F-Four Digimon stories. A T-Total Drama story brewing in back of m-mind. A request for a-another Digimon s-s-story. C-College applications. C-College essay. F-Film and a-a-animation work. C-Creative writing a-and AP G-Government h-h-homework.**

**Mimi: He's having some sort of mental breakdown.**

**Izzy: He'll snap out of it eventually.**

**Cody: I hope so.**

**Ken: Zero Unit does not own anything except the obvious. Okay, does anybody want to direct in Zero's place?**

-X-

The days that passed by came without an incident. The warlock was oddly quiet, only leaving ominous messages or tormenting locals but he hasn't done anything on a large scale as of recently. It was all rather worrying but there wasn't any time to worry. The funeral for the king was going to happen soon and the entire kingdom was in mourning. They had all found out about their ruler's death earlier the previous day.

"The village has never looked so morose" TK remarked.

Kari glanced out the window and even though she couldn't see it, she could feel the negative energy coming from there. Her pupils shifted to the prince for a moment, catching the saddened look in his eyes, and not simply for his father. "It must be hard for you."

"It's harder for my brother than it is for me" TK replied but she didn't miss the heavy undertone in his voice.

The maiden nodded as she refilled his cup of tea. She invited herself to the castle this time; she was concerned with the prince's wellbeing with the burial drawing near. They were left alone in the prince's chamber and it didn't feel nearly as suffocating as she had thought it would be. He kept a respectful distance from her and wasn't too personal unless he was sharing something about himself.

"Why do I feel like you've said this many times before?" Kari inquired.

"Because people keep sending me there regards and condolences" TK replied but he didn't annoyed by it. "I wish they would stop but I feel like that would send the wrong message. I just don't want to be reminded at every turn that…" He trailed off.

"There could've been something you could do different" Kari finished for him.

TK nodded. "I blame myself for what happened just like how…"

"I blame myself for my brother's death" Kari said. "I kept thinking that if I hadn't accepted your invitation, it wouldn't have happened. My brother. Your father. And we could've gotten to know each other in other ways like with what we're doing now."

"Yeah" TK sighed. He leaned back into his chair. "I replay what happened at dinner and I remember thinking that you might've been uncomfortable if it was you and a bunch of royals, along with servants you didn't know. I wanted to ask if the knights who came with you and the princess could stay. Then your brother…"

"You're blaming yourself for my brother's demise?" Kari blinked.

"I was also thinking that maybe those knights would've insisted on going with the princess to the bathroom" TK continued. "Then my father wouldn't have gone himself to check on her so persistently. And even if he did, with two knights nearby, something would've been different."

"So we're blaming ourselves for something we cannot possibly change" Kari muttered.

"Is that not part of human nature?" TK questioned.

It was. Everyone who was involved probably blamed themselves, some more than others.

Knights Cody and Noriko might be thinking that they should've gone to check on Mimi in the king's stead despite his protests. They were probably thinking that if they had insisted, things would be different.

The princess probably wished that she had stayed in her seat like a proper young lady instead of leaving. Then the king would have no reason to leave the dining room in the first place.

Knight Kiriha probably believed that he should've been with Tai and led him back before he could end up getting lost in the massive palace. Then perhaps, if Kiriha was there, he could've done something to prevent Tai's death.

Everyone could blame themselves using 'what ifs' but there was no point. You cannot change what has been done, you can only try to make things better but it's not very easy, everyone knows that. But even though everyone knows that, it's much more difficult to actually put this mindset because it's just too easy to think about the negative situation turning around. Kari hated thinking that way but she couldn't help herself.

"It's the terrible truth about us as humans" Kari nodded solemnly. "We have thoughts, we think, and we can't control them sometimes. They run rampant and we end up thinking about what we can do in order to change that. But that's impossible."

"It is" TK muttered. "It's impossible…"

The two of them paused and stared at each other for a long time. "We can only make our futures seem brighter" Kari finally breathed.

TK nodded in agreement. "The question is how? How are we going to make our futures brighter?"

"By making each other smile through all the disasters" Kari said. She stood up from the table and embraced the prince. "TK, I want you to know that you're my friend and I love you. I don't know if I can love you in the way you have fallen for me but I do think we can give it a try somewhere along the way. But not right now. I'm not ready to fall when I cannot stand just yet. My legs still shake when I try and then I collapse once more."

TK hugged her back. "I don't want you to fall because I'm not quite sure I'm ready to catch you yet so it might be for the best. But thank you. It's been quite some time since I've felt this happy."

Kari released him and then gave him a sisterly peck on the cheek. "I'm always going to be here for you. Even if I cannot fall, I try to rise and lift you with me."

"Like an angel in one of my old storybooks."

Kari nodded. "We'll both be like angels."

TK looked back out the window and the wave of pessimism hit him like a heavy wave. It reminded him of the time he tried to sail out and meet Leviathan to prove something about independency to his brother and that literal wave had crashed into him. It was stupid and he ended up with an ugly gash across his torso. But worst of all, he left the doctor with only one real arm. Now that person has left the entire village out to sea, and has released Leviathan on them.

"I've made up my mind" TK nodded firmly.

Kari, overcome with curiosity, tilted her head to the side. "On what?"

"On what I'm going to do when my brother becomes king of this land" TK told her before returning his gaze to the window. "I'm going to try and make everyone in the village happy. Restore that once positive atmosphere to this forsaken kingdom. I'm going stop crying, cease wishing, and put a halt to all my desires for a different ending. Because I know that's useless but you have shown me that bringing happiness to others is not impossible."

"That is a beautiful dream" Kari commented, remembering that she had once felt that way too. "It's just. I'm not quite sure that bringing happiness to everyone is truly possible. Not everyone is content with the same thing as their neighbor is."

"I'm well aware" the prince nodded. "But I do know that everyone can be content. That in itself makes me believe. I'm holding on to hope that this can happen. It's possible. Just like becoming an angel in one of my storybooks."

"Hope…" Kari repeated. She always loved that word; it always made her feel a little bit happier in a bad situation. "Our dreadful situation could use a lot more of that. It seems like everything has been shrouded in darkness so that hope cannot shine."

"That isn't true" TK shook his head. "People are losing hope but there are few that have not. As long as those few believe, then there is light."

"Light cannot exist without hope."

TK nodded. "No, it can't."

"I know you can do it" Kari finally said after a long period of silence. "If anyone can, it's you. You're still holding onto hope when everyone else has collapsed to their knees and if you stop believing then I will bring you back up. I'll believe in you."

"Thank you Kari…" TK breathed as he hugged one more time. "You really know how to make me happy."

Kari could hear her heart beating in her ears as she melted into his warmth. It was strange, when she had walked into this room earlier, it felt cold. His distance didn't feel respectful, even though it was intended to be, it felt lonely. It had felt so cold this entire time and she hadn't realized it because she had been bathed in this feeling for a long time now. Ever since her brother died. She has felt this way. Only now does she feel what she has been missing.

_'And you have no idea how happy you make me…'_ And apparently, neither did she, not until recently.

-X-

_Izzy was moving quickly through the forest with a girl his age running next to him. They were both laughing although the wizard wasn't quite sure why. Finally, they both ended up in front of a beautiful lake with a small waterfall flowing into it._

_"It's beautiful" Izzy breathed as he took a step closer to the water. He placed hand in it and he exhaled when he felt how cold it was._

_The girl bent down next to him. "This is a royal family secret that I am entrusting you with so you have to promise not to tell anyone or my daddy is going to hunt you down. And it won't matter that you know magic, he'll destroy you."_

_"I don't doubt that" Izzy chuckled. "I just can't believe you actually trust me enough to show me this. I've only been your personal royal guard for about five years."_

_"That may not seem long to you magic types but for us regular mortals, it's enough for me to consider you as family" she giggled. "And besides, I've already told you many times how much I love you."_

_Izzy suddenly tensed up and moved away from her when she tried to touch him. He didn't want to face her; he just had this sad expression on his face that he didn't want her to see. But it was like a knife to the heart for both of them. They had tried so hard to push down their feelings but it was to no avail, they could not help but see each other for a moonlit tryst, whether it was at the palace or in the mage's personal library._

_"Have you shown this to Kyle?" Izzy asked suddenly. He didn't even know why he had asked. Of course she would show it to that guy. He was to become the next king._

_"No, I haven't…" This surprised him. "But my father has."_

_That didn't surprise him as much. "Are you really going to marry him?" Izzy asked. He didn't intend it come out as desperate as he had intended it to be._

_"I have to" she replied but she was just as bit of sad and desperate as he was. It made him feel rather pathetic; to be putting the girl he loved so much into this corner. "You know that the law requires a royal to marry a royal. Even if it wasn't him, it would be some other duke or baron from another land. We can't be together."_

_"Princess…"_

_"And how many times have I told you to stop calling me that? I love you, why can't you just call me by my first name?"_

_"Because that would make this taboo relationship of ours too real" Izzy replied as he finally turned to face her. He could see that she had started crying, crystalline tears rolling down her snow-white cheeks. He rubbed them away and held out his hand as if he was holding a wand. A spark, and then another, and then another and it soon became an invisible sparkler in his hand. It had gotten dark so the princess believed that it was simply for illuminating the night but the sparkler soon became an electric rose which soon bloomed into a real one but it still sparked along the edges like it was filled with electricity._

_"It won't hurt me, right?" she asked hesitantly._

_"I would never hurt you" Izzy replied._

_She touched the rose tenderly before holding it in her hand. She stared at the blooming bud and smiled. "It's gorgeous."_

_"You're even more gorgeous than that flower" the mage whispered lovingly._

_"Why…Why don't you want this love of ours to be real?" she asked, looking up at him._

_Izzy couldn't help it; he pressed his lips against hers and gave her his answer once they had parted. "Because once it becomes real, I will feel this desire to have the world know about us. You do realize what would happen to us if we were found out, right?"_

_"Of course I do" she said softly and then kissed the wizard again. "But I just feel that if it's not real then it's not worth it. I love you Izzy and all I want is for you to say my name."_

_Izzy stared at her for a long time and as always, he could feel that magnetic pull towards her. "I suppose there is no arguing with you, is there? I mean, I already feel like screaming to the whole world about how much I love you."_

_The princess seemed to have relaxed suddenly as they stared into each others' eyes. They stood like that for the longest time. Izzy took the time to study her features even though he had memorized every inch of her body by heart. Her caramel brown hair, her sweet, beautiful eyes, everything about her. And he loved every single inch of the girl standing in front of him._

_"…I love you…"_

-X-

"Mimi…" Izzy muttered as his vision started coming back to him. He blinked the blurriness out of them and saw the princess standing in front of him.

In most cases, she would be looking at him with a concerned expression because he had been hurt. He certainly felt hurt. The pounding in his head, the aching in his chest, and blood oozing from various cuts on his body. But she simply stared at him with cold, unfeeling eyes but her mouth was twisted into a prideful and triumphant smile.

The wizard felt sick that she could do that with her pretty face. To contort the face he had memorized so well into something so sinister. He wished he had put a stop to those secret meetings of his those years ago. But there was no point in thinking about the possible endings. All he knew was, this was not the ending he wanted. Not for him.

"You've finally awaken…Grandfather."


End file.
